A new bus line across Tampa Bay features comfy seats, power connections and a relaxed ride.
By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS
Published September 6, 2003
[Times photos: Libby Volgyes]
Mike Kettles of Seminole rides the new 300X bus as it croses the bridge into Tampa.
The new bus runs from Ulmerton Road to Tampa. Called a "premium transit service," it has amenities most buses lack.
Laptop power connections on a bus?
It's true.
Interested in learning more? Hop on the 300X, the new express bus line running between Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Starting out on Ulmerton Road in Largo and ending up at the Marion Street bus terminal in Tampa, it's a 45-minute, $1.50 ride in a coach bus with reclining seats, electrical outlets for portable gadgets, reading lights and adjustable air conditioning for every cushy seat.
And, just like in an airplane, there is room above the seats for carry-ons.
Mike Kettles sings the praises of the two-week old route.
"I'm a country guy and this traffic around here gets me uptight," said Kettles, a Seminole resident who works in the forestry/natural resources department for Hillsborough County government. "This bus is easy. There is no parking to pay. No wear and tear on my car and no nervousness about driving."
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority calls the route, which began on Aug. 25, a "premium transit service." It's the region's third such dual-county express bus line and, according to riders, the best idea PSTA has had in a long time.
"I love it," said Kris Blake, 42, who writes the closed captions for Hillsborough government television and recently starting taking the 7 a.m. bus to Tampa. "There's no more stress about having to deal with nutty people on the road. I get to have some down time."
And, riders say, they end up saving between $40 and $80 a month in gas and parking fees.
PSTA approved the idea in 2002. The transit authority wanted to find a way to encourage more business people and upper income earners to use public transportation - and try to keep their cars off congested Ulmerton Road. They also wanted to create a midcounty express bus route.
The route's estimated $1.4-million startup costs include the fancy buses and two park-and-ride lots on Ulmerton Road. Both PSTA and the Florida Department of Transportation put in money to get it started. (Some of that money pays for updated coach buses to run on another express route.)
The PSTA initially figured on 44,000 riders per year, which will help offset the first year's estimated $365,000 operating cost. Ridership is estimated to rise to 66,000 the following year and 88,000 thereafter. On average, it takes about six months for a new route to catch on with riders, said PSTA executive director Roger Sweeney.
So far, the route touts 60 passengers a day.
"The first day we had 20 passengers," Sweeney said. "We almost tripled that in a short period of time. It's growing steadily."
The area's two other express buses have hundreds of passengers per day. The 100X has run between the Gateway Mall area in St. Petersburg to downtown Tampa for 15 years. The 200X, owned by the Hillsborough County's transit authority, runs from the east end of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard to downtown Tampa.
The express routes are good for professionals who don't need their cars during the day, said Patsy Baker, 51, of Pinellas Park.
Baker was on the 7 a.m. bus last week, reclining in a purple, pink and green-speckled seat while reading her morning paper on the ride to work.
The bus cruised across the bridge while cars hurriedly dodged in and out of neighboring lanes. Baker folded her paper and leisurely looked out at Tampa Bay's choppy waves.
"I used to carpool," said Baker, who works in the accounting and pension office for the city of Tampa. "The carpoolers now all ride the bus."
The ride is smooth enough for Baker to do her cross stitch all the way across the Howard Frankland Bridge. And though she doesn't get a 75 percent discount like Hillsborough County employees receive, taking the bus is still cheaper than driving, she said. (Any business or government agency can contract with PSTA for reduced fares.)
"I'm saving $30 a month," said Baker. "And, the buses are noticebly nicer."
There is some cross commuting as well, said Sweeney, the executive director.
"Interestingly enough we are seeing a small handful of riders from Hillsborough to Pinellas," he said. "We're not sure exactly what that's about yet."
Wayne Hassett, who drives the 7 a.m. bus, is excited about the route.
The route is given to bus drivers with seniority, Hassett said. It's slightly different because it's a split shift - work from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., go home, and return to work for the afternoon rush.
"Ridership is slowly picking up," said Hassett, 57, of Pinellas Park. "Word of mouth is slowly catching on with people. Plus it's a brand new bus; it's a benefit to drive."
The 300X starts out at a refurbished, air-conditioned former KFC restaurant with free parking on Ulmerton Road, just east of Starkey Road and next door to a Wendy's restaurant. It goes east to the Stonybrook Drive park-and-ride lot and to the Airco Golf Course. Then it crosses the Howard Frankland Bridge and on to the Marion Transit Center, with stops along the way at government complexes.
Buses run every half hour starting at 6 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. Buses run at 11 a.m. and at 1 p.m., then return to a half-hour schedule beginning with the 3:30 p.m. bus. The last bus leaves Ulmerton Road at 6 p.m.
Return trips are every half hour starting at 7:05 a.m. from the Marion Transit Center in Tampa. The last bus leaves at 7:05 p.m.
Bus schedules can be found online at www.psta.net or at bus shelters and terminals. The 300X does not run on weekends.
Blake, the closed captions writer, scoffs at people who think of the bus only as a poor person's transportation. Even some of her co-workers raised an eyebrow when she told them how she'd be getting to work half of the time.
"The impression you get when you say you take the bus is that only seedy people take it," said Blake. "But I feel very safe."
"I'm spoiled already. I get to read my magazines. I leave here at 7 a.m. and get to my office at 10 minutes to 8 a.m. I'm sold."
