AJ Ortiz pressed the brake as he pulled up next to another bus in downtown St. Petersburg.
“Usually in a tight space, you close one eye and hold your breath,” Ortiz quipped. He stopped and pointed out a pole on the sidewalk. It showed some bus routes, but a new circular sign read, “727 Airport Express.”
The new signs are in nine spots across downtown St. Petersburg. They mark the stops for a new public bus route that willshuttle travelers from Tampa International Airport to downtown St. Petersburg.
Its name nods to the Pinellas County area code, of course. It’s also the first route of its kind to use the Howard Frankland Bridge’s express lanes to take travelers to the airport in an effort to avoid congestion.
The first day of service is Sunday. It’s a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority-operated route that was announced by Pinellas, Hillsborough and airport officials in July.
“It is a start to a new chapter in PSTA,” said Ortiz, the lead instructor for new bus drivers in the Transit Authority.
Here’s a bit more on the route, where to catch the bus and the uncertainty it could face later this year.
Where can you catch the bus?
It has nine stops in and around downtown St. Petersburg. It will start from the entryway to the St. Pete Pier.
This map shows each stop along the new 727 Airport Express route, which starts Sunday. It has nine stops in and around downtown St. Petersburg.
The bus will then head west on Central Avenue, outside the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront hotel downtown. It will continue with a stop outside Williams Park and down Fifth Avenue North before jumping onInterstate 275.
It’ll stop on Fourth Avenue North getting off the interstate, and twice on Second Avenue North before starting a new route at the pier.
Most of the stops downtown also match up with SunRunner stops.
How much does it cost?
It’s $2.25 one way with cash,and$2.36 using a debit or credit card.
While the bus uses the express lanes, that’s at no extra cost to travelers.
AJ Ortiz speaks as he steers the 727 Airport Express bus across Tampa Bay on the Howard Frankland Bridge. The new bus is the only route that uses the express lanes to get between downtown St. Petersburg and Tampa International Airport.
When does it run?
The bus will run from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.
It will run a full route every 75 minutes, according to a route fact sheet. For example, a bus will leave the last stop in downtown St. Petersburg at 5:35 a.m., then return downtown by 6:50 a.m. on its second morning route.
That cycle means the bus is going to and from downtown St. Petersburg and Tampa International 15 times throughout its hours in service. The timing and frequency of the bus can change if there’s extreme weather or traffic.
This is different from other Pinellas routes to and from the airport, which only ran on weekdays.
The 727 Airport Express stops at the main bus terminal at Tampa International Airport. Stops for the new bus route are marked with a circular sign that says “727” in blue letters.
What’s next for the route?
Depending on the results from November’s election, the bus route might not have a long life.
Should voters pass an expanded property tax exemption forprimary residence ownerson November’s ballot, the Transit Authority said, the 727 Airport Express could end.
November’s ballot asks Florida voters if they want to increase the property tax exemption on primary residences in the next two years. Floridians who own the homes they live in already have a $50,000 exemption on the value of their home as calculated to determine their property tax bill.
And the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot would triple the current $50,000 homestead exemption on primary residences in 2027 and raise it to $250,000 the following year. Depending on their home’s assessed value, some property owners could save thousands on their tax bills.
A view from inside a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus. The 727 Airport Express will have luggage racks for travelers heading to the airport.
Property taxes make up a large chunk of local governments’ revenue, even more so for public transportation authorities. Nearly 70% of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s budget comes from property tax revenue.
The route could end as soon as June should the referendum pass. The Transit Authority released a webpage that also details other routes that it could eliminate with the loss of revenue, along with the ferry services in Clearwater and across Tampa Bay.