The Tampa Bay area’s first bus rapid transit system is getting a new station in downtown St. Pete. The next stop on the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s SunRunner system is at 150 First Ave. N. near the Sundial parking garage. In an Aug. 16 press release, PSTA CEO Brad Miller said the new station will bring riders closer to Beach Drive, the Cross Bay Ferry and the St. Pete Pier. PSTA expects the station to open in late 2024. Miller says the new station will run every 15 minutes until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. PSTA has three new 40-foot-long hybrid buses to meet rider demand, which skyrockets during special events such as the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Localtopia, Halloween on Central and the St. Pete Pride Parade Festival.

The start of construction on the new SunRunner station continues a remarkable summer period for PSTA. During the St. Pete Pride Parade festival on June 22, SunRunner recorded its highest single-day ridership of nearly 5,800 passengers. In July, the Federal Transit Administration awarded PSTA $27.8 million in federal grants to purchase at least 16 all-electric and hybrid-electric buses for its fleet, the largest discretionary grant in the agency’s history.

Also in July, the American Public Transportation Association honored PSTA with its Excellence in Inclusive Collaboration Award for its collaboration on SunRunner with Jones Worley, an African-American woman-owned company serving underserved groups, and HW Lochner, the lead engineer for the Bus Rapid Transit system.

Tampa E-Bike Voucher Program

The City of Tampa is accepting applications for its e-bike voucher program until 5:00 p.m. Friday, August 30. The voucher program is open to all City of Tampa residents ages 18 and older and offers discounts on the purchase price of an e-bike at five participating bike shops. The standard voucher is for $1,000, with $2,000 and $3,000 vouchers available for low and very low incomes.

City of TampaTampa is accepting applications from city residents for its e-bike voucher program until August 30 at 5 p.m.The coupons are for discounts on Class 1 and 2 e-bikes (with throttle assist). Coupon recipients will be selected through a random lottery-style drawing. Tampa residents who applied for the coupon program in the spring and were not selected will automatically be entered into this application cycle. There are 108 coupons available in this application cycle. Tampa is hosting E-Bike Rodeo events where you can test drive bikes and learn more about the coupon program. This will happen on August 21 at Lykes Gaslight Square Park, August 26 at Rowlett Park and August 28 at the Jan Platt Library. Each event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For more information, see Tampa E-Bike Voucher Program.

Ybor Seventh Avenue Brick Project

The first phase of the brick resurfacing project on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City has been completed.

A grand opening ceremony on August 20 celebrated the completion of work along the two-block stretch of Seventh Street between 15th and 17th Streets. The entire projectCity of TampaIt took about 80,000 bricks to transform the 1500 and 1600 blocks of Seventh Avenue in Ybor City back into a brick street. will return Seventh Avenue to a brick street from Nick Nuccio Parkway to 26th Street. This will be done in stages to limit street closures and detours. The main route through Ybor City’s historic district, Seventh Avenue was a brick street until the 1960s before it was paved with asphalt.

For more information, see Seventh Avenue Bricking Project

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