PTSA is planning to change or eliminate Routes 5, 22, 38 and 58 despite reserves to cover the routes until 2022 and a County Commissioner directive to look at alternatives. The proposed cuts and changes will also pull necessary DART services for the handicapped from several areas reliant upon them. While PTSA claims routes such as the 58 don't meet rider needs and tend to be lower revenue producing routes, they fail to acknowledge that they caused this issue with poor scheduling. The last survey done in 2017 used 4 hour increments of "morning, afternoon and evening" to determine the highest likely time of use, which left too much room for interpretation when the schedule was revised in 2018. PSTA eliminated service on the route from about 4:30 PM to 6:10 PM in 2012; and even though they could of corrected the problem in 2018, they did not. PSTA's Bob Lasher said they were asked by some call centers on the route to run the bus later. The call centers were accommodated, but the vast majority of the other corporations on this route were not given the same consideration despite hundreds of workers who could utilize the bus services with better scheduling.  PSTA in essence admitted they did not even use their own scheduling data. Eliminating the 58 that services the industrial corridor of Bryan Dairy into Seminole and St. Petersburg will jeopardize the livelihood of many people who use this bus. On top of that, PSTA effectively denied the bus riding public a chance at good paying jobs on this route, choosing instead to put free routes in tourist areas. Jobs are simply discarded as viable options when the bus does not service the destinations adequately. Further, PSTA has refused to acknowledge that the $1.7 million deficit was created by providing false information on their application for an FTA grant for a new Bus Rapid Transit project. This BRT would connect downtown St. Pete to the St. Pete Beach (St. Pete Beach is a city separate form St. Petersburg), a project St. Pete Beach has rejected. To qualify for the grant, PSTA had to show the FTA that they could come up with 25% of the overall bill. Part of that 25% was St. Pete Beaches alleged $1.5 million. The Mayor of St. Pete Beach told the Tampa Bay Times he never told PSTA they would pay for any portion of the BRT and has accused PSTA of using their city as a "tool" to get a the $22 million grant.  So where did those funds go? PSTA also had an extra $4 million in property tax revenue this year, yet they are spending more than they are bringing in and don't want to use their $32 million reserve. Instead the bus riders are expected to foot the bill by sacrificing their jobs.  We are asking that the PTSA Board suspend route changes to look at alternative solutions that work for the entire community, not just the tourist areas and politicians that want to take credit for bringing the first ever BRT project to the Tampa Bay area.

Several solutions have been proposed to the PTSA Board, including 1) rescheduling buses such as the 59 that runs every 15 minutes and is usually empty; 2) charging a nominal fee on the free buses for tourists that run every 15 minutes until midnight every day - again often empty; 3) reschedule buses using accurate rider data to increase usage and thereby increase revenue while simultaneously reducing expenses by eliminating the cost of empty buses.

I started this petition because...
I am a resident of Seminole who has used the PTSA bus system for 30 years as my source of transportation. I work full time and go to college as well. Besides myself, these bus routes affect hundreds of others who rely on these routes. PSTA should be held accountable for their errors and not be allowed to cancel routes when they  mismanage the bus system. I have the proof and am happy to share with anyone who would like to see it. I can not do this alone, and the socioeconomic demographic that rides the bus has been taken advantage of for long enough.  We may ride the bus, but we have a voice! Please help us be heard!