St. Petersburg, FL—The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced that the Pinellas Suncoast Transportation Authority (PSTA) was awarded $1 million for new innovative technology to help streamline reduced fare enrollment for Veterans and seniors. These funds will connect PSTA's enrollment system for reduced bus fares to Login.gov and make it easier for veterans and seniors to apply online for free or lower bus fares.

"Tampa Bay area veterans and seniors need improved access to transit to get where they need to go," said Rep. Castor. "This $1 million SMART grant – provided through the historic federal Infrastructure law – will make it easier for veterans and seniors to apply for free and reduced fares from the comfort of their homes or smartphones. I salute PSTA for its innovative approach to ensure our neighbors enjoy affordable, reliable transportation."

“We are incredibly thankful to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Kathy Castor, and USDOT for their recognition of the need for this project,” said Brad Miller, Chief Executive Officer of PSTA. “PSTA strives to remove as many barriers as possible so that our community can use our services. Creating an easier process for our veterans and seniors to get their free or reduced fare on their smartphone or at their home will make using our public transit services even easier.”

PSTA was awarded the funds through the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program.

The USDOT’s SMART Grant Program is a two-stage program: Stage One Planning and Prototyping Grants, and Stage Two Implementation Grants. This round of projects include 34 Stage One Prototyping projects in 21 states including PSTA’s fare technology project. This is the third year of the overall SMART Grant Stage One awards, for which the Department received 308 eligible grant applications for this most recent round of funding.

To learn more about the SMART grants, click here.