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A step up in rapid transit
Transportation officials like the 60-foot hybrid, but is it too costly?
By AARON SHAROCKMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 20, 2007
ST. PETERSBURG - The 60-foot-long hybrid bus is like the stretch-Escalade limo of public transportation. It's big, sleek and distinctive. The motor runs on a mix of diesel fuel and electricity. An accordion design allows the bus to slink around corners. Universally, officials love the idea of such a bus zipping across St. Petersburg to ferry people to and from the beaches. They just don't agree on whether we can afford it. St. Petersburg leaders demonstrated the new technology for two dozen city, county and area transit officials Friday, hoping to win support for stylized buses. "It's a nice ride," said City Council Chairman Jamie Bennett. "It's something we need to consider." Each bus is $830,000, more than three times the cost of a traditional 40-foot-long bus. The city wants nine or 10 of them to run between downtown and the Pinellas beaches. The expansion is an important first step toward a more rapid countywide transportation system, and needs to be done right, said Joe Kubicki, the city's transportation chief. "If this fails, we're not going to do a second one," Kubicki said. "We have to make sure it works on the first try." Federal grants could pay for up to half of the route, which, including stations and road improvements, could cost $35-million or more, planners say. The other half would have to be found locally, a challengegiven ever-tightening budgets. As a result, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority has been pushing for a more modest bus. Tim Garling, the recently hired executive director of the PSTA, said Friday the transit agency will consider all options - including different bus styles. The agency plans to meet in November with the city and the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization with the goal of reaching consensus. Whatever decisions planners make, the idea of a express bus service in downtown St. Petersburg is still years away. Originally scheduled to begin in 2008, the new system won't be ready before 2010, and may take longer, officials say. Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or 727 892-2273.
[Last modified October 19, 2007, 22:20:04]
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by john
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10/21/07 02:45 PM
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Way too costly and the need is not there. Our buses aren't even full.
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by JK
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10/20/07 07:10 PM
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Will St. Pete's balloon ever land? The people that ride mass transit to the beach are the local people that work there. We would rather have more buses than some fancy things, I very seldom see tourist on the buses, if I do they are looking leary.
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