For Immeadiate Release

September 24th, 2025

PSTA Lowers Property Tax Rate Again While Delivering New Services

Innovative projects move forward alongside savings for taxpayers

Pinellas County, FL—For the second year in a row, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Board of Directors has approved a balanced budget that reduces the agency’s property tax rate, while also advancing new services and improvements across the transit system.

The rate for 2026 is set at .7300 mills, down from .7342 mills in 2025 and .7500 mills in 2024. One mill equals $1 of tax paid for every $1,000 of taxable value on a property. This establishes the lowest tax rate to fund the public transportation services in Pinellas County at their lowest level in 15 years.  

After initiating successful new Grouper airport shuttle service and the Clearwater Ferry in 2025, PSTA’s FY2026 budget will support launching even more new initiatives. On October 26, the agency’s Connected Community Bus Network will take effect, reorganizing routes and schedules to create a bus system that is clearer, more consistent, and more connected. The system redesign follows extensive public outreach and is cost-neutral—achieved without any expected cost increases for the agency or taxpayers.

PSTA will also debut SPARK, a high-frequency premium bus service connecting South Pinellas’s Eckerd College and the Skyway Marina District in St. Petersburg with Downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach. The agency is also set to expand the Clearwater Ferry to the City of Dunedin in the coming weeks and is working toward launching a new Tampa Bay Ferry service as early as next year.

“PSTA provides vital services to our community—a fact that became even clearer after last year’s hurricanes—and today’s vote shows we can keep supporting that work while also being careful stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said PSTA Board Chair and St. Petersburg City Council Member Deborah Figgs-Sanders.

PSTA leaders emphasized that the tax reduction reflects both fiscal responsibility and a commitment to innovation.

“We know every dollar counts for Pinellas County taxpayers,” said Brad Miller, Chief Executive Officer of PSTA. “For the second straight year, we’ve lowered the tax rate while continuing to deliver excellent, forward-thinking service that connects people to work, school, and everywhere they need to go.”

Today, PSTA serves more than 30,000 riders daily. Services include:

·      County-wide bus routes serving all of Pinellas

·      Free rides for Veterans

·      Paratransit services for residents with disabilities

·      Innovative transit options such as the SunRunner bus rapid transit line, Grouper airport express shuttle, and the Clearwater Ferry

With back-to-back tax reductions, a reimagined countywide network, and new ferry and bus services on the horizon, PSTA is delivering on two key objectives: stewarding public resources responsibly and building a more connected transit future for Pinellas County.

Stephanie Weaver

PSTA Communications & Public Relations Manager  

O: (727) 540-1853 | C: (727) 249-6542

E: Sweaver@psta.net

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ABOUT PINELLAS SUNCOAST TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Since 1903, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) has served as the premier public transit provider for Pinellas County, Florida’s most densely populated county. The SunRunner, Tampa Bay’s first-ever Bus Rapid Transit service, provides a reliable, car-free option from downtown St. Pete and St. Pete Beach. With 41 fixed-route bus routes, two express routes to downtown Tampa, the Suncoast Beach trolley, Jolley Trolley and Looper and their paratransit service Access, PSTA provides 10.7 million rides annually. For more information about PSTA, visit www.psta.net