Clearwater Beach’s airport shuttle and the Snapper on-demand bus service face elimination under a PSTA budget proposal set for a second public hearing Wednesday, Aug. 26.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority will hold the 9 a.m. hearing at its St. Petersburg headquarters on a plan to cut five transit services as part of its fiscal year 2027 budget. The hearing will also be livestreamed on PSTA’s website.
Among the services targeted is the Grouper Airport Shuttle, which connects St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport with Clearwater Beach and the Sheraton Sand Key Resort and Clearwater Beach Marriott Resort on Sand Key. The single-rider fare is $8.
The Snapper on-demand service, which connects locations within zones in Clearwater and Safety Harbor with Countryside Mall and, in Clearwater, Park Street Terminal, uses PSTA’s standard $2.25 regular fare and would also end. Snapper expanded to Clearwater on Oct. 26, 2025, as part of PSTA’s Connected Community Bus Network redesign; its Safety Harbor service had operated previously.
Routes 90, 16 and 58 are also slated for elimination. PSTA Access paratransit service along the affected routes would end as well.
PSTA has cited budget pressures and low ridership as the reasons for the proposed cuts, according to Tampa Bay 28.
Fare increases proposed alongside cuts
Even if the Grouper shuttle avoids elimination, riders would pay more under the proposal. PSTA’s public notice proposes raising the Grouper’s single-rider fare from $8 to $10 and increasing group-ticket rates. The same notice also lists the shuttle for elimination and does not explain how the two proposals relate, as Tampa Bay Business & Wellness Magazine reported.
Other proposed fare changes include an 11-cent increase for fares paid onboard by credit or debit card, an increase in the Transportation Disadvantaged bus-pass copay from $11 to $13, and a fuel-price fare escalator for ferry services. PSTA’s notice provides no details on how the ferry escalator would work.
Riders push back
Transit riders have pushed back on the proposed cuts in recent weeks. Kristen Ehrlich of Connect Pinellas, a local transit advocacy organization, told Tampa Bay 28 that the consequences go beyond inconvenience: “People are really struggling, for some people losing a bus route could mean losing a job, maybe losing their only access point to get groceries or go to school.”
Bryan Eubanks, a daily bus rider, told the outlet that he depends on Routes 18 and 58 to get to work and that losing service would threaten his livelihood.
Connect Pinellas is asking residents and riders to contact PSTA and elected officials to voice opposition before the Aug. 26 hearing.
How to weigh in
Wednesday’s hearing begins at 9 a.m. at PSTA headquarters in St. Petersburg. Residents should confirm current options for livestreaming and submitting comments with PSTA. The agency’s public hearing page currently lists the mailing address PSTA, 3201 Scherer Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33716, and [email protected] for a separate June hearing; the material reviewed did not verify that those instructions apply to the Aug. 26 hearing.
