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Pinellas Transit Officials Say 'Dump The Pump,' Board The Buses

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

A sign on the back of a PSTA bus entices drivers to take public transit as a statement against high gas prices. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority has declared Thursday "Dump The Pump" day in an effort to attract more riders.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

Updated: 06/18/2008 09:48 am

ST. PETERSBURG - Describing gasoline pumps as "the real one-armed bandits," Pinellas County public transportation officials today kicked off a push to get more people to ride the county's 205 buses.

Dump the Pump takes place Thursday and mirrors a national effort. Today, officials urged commuters and travelers to take advantage of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's buses.

Previous initiatives tried getting people to ride public transportation for environmental reasons. This year, the push includes a different reason for abandoning personal vehicles: the draining of wallets at the gasoline pumps as fuel prices top $4 a gallon.

That should be enough to push people onto public transportation, said PSTA Executive Director Tim Garling.

"We're seeing ridership increases across the board," he said.

Planners are looking at ways to increase the number of people riding buses, he said. There are talks, for example, with Hillsborough County public transportation officials to boost ridership between the two counties.

"In 10 years," Garling said, "we can double our ridership."

He said more buses will be needed to meet that demand, perhaps double the existing number.

And that will cost money, he said. The fare box pays for less than one-quarter of the cost of running the system, he said. A task force has been formed to examine ways to fund the expanded operation, he said.

Garling presented a chart that shows how ridership has increased in the past six months, reflecting the jump in gasoline prices. By the end of June, officials estimate, more than 1.1 million people will have plunked down in a PSTA bus seat. That's a record.

In a written statement, the authority says the initiative "is designed to encourage Americans who usually drive to work to try transit for one day."

It also says statistics back up the assertion that "once commuters take their first transit ride, they are far more likely to continue using public transportation."

Garling said the authority is bending over backwards to make it as easy as possible for first-timers to navigate a bus ride from one place to another.

"Once you do it," he said, "you will continue."

Across the Bay, Hillsborough transportation authorities say they have seen a significant jump in commuter ridership since the gasoline prices shot upward in 2007. Much of that is coming from the suburbs -- from as far away as Wesley Chapel and Valrico.

AAA reported this week that the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $4.07, up from $3 this time last year.

The average price in Florida this week, AAA says, is $4.03 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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