Shuttle bus service to resume in June

The owner of the bus service says the shuttle, which caused a controversy with St. Pete Beach city officials in March, will start with or without their approval.

By DENIS THERIAULT

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 30, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- The wheels on the shuttle bus linking St. Pete Beach to downtown St. Petersburg won't be going 'round and 'round just yet.

The First Class Coach/Gray Line, which stopped running days after its March debut, will resume service June 5, said Ted Padlo, general manager of First Class Coach Martz group, the company that owns and operates the line.

Padlo said he halted the service almost six weeks ago after St. Pete Beach officials expressed concerns. After meeting with them, he said he found the concerns unreasonable and pushed to continue the service unchanged. He wanted to restart the service on April 24, he said, but decided to wait for an expected influx of European tourists to Pinellas County this summer.

"The hotels called me and said they wanted (the buses) operating then," Padlo said. They will be "unless some other brick wall hits me in the face."

Once the shuttle starts, for $10 round trip, passengers will be able to take the buses to and from five different hotels on the beach as well as The Pier in St. Petersburg. St. Pete Beach also approved a stop on Corey Avenue and Gulf Boulevard, but Padlo objected to the city's conditions for the stop and said he didn't need it.

"Our area is so unique. We need a transportation infrastructure to move people around," said Mark Cornish, vice president of tourism and transportation for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. "I think it'll be a great asset."

St. Pete Beach officials, while still enthusiastic, had some reservations. They worried that the shuttles would conflict with the city's own subsidized public bus line, the Bay Area Taxi Service. They were also concerned that Padlo's shuttle would take more people away from the beach than it would bring to it.

Carl Schwing, St. Pete Beach's city manager, and representatives from BATS met with Padlo and outlined a list of nine "suggestions" they urged him to accept. These items were then incorporated into a resolution allowing Padlo's buses to stop at Corey Avenue and Gulf Boulevard.

According to the resolution, Padlo is supposed to count the number of passengers going to and from St. Petersburg, promote St. Pete Beach shopping venues, promote the use of BATS and mark the buses as expresses.

"I was expressing the concern of the small businesses of the beach, and I shared their concerns," Schwing said. "I'm happy with the arrangement that was made."

Padlo, however, said the "demands" made him furious. Because his business is privately owned, he said the city has no right to make him provide free advertising for other entities or dictate what kind of signs he installs on his buses.

"I thought to myself, "I'm just trying to promote tourism in Pinellas County,' " he said. "Being an independent entrepreneur, I found it quite appalling.

"They want to reap the harvest. Business 101 doesn't tell you to allow that."

Padlo said that if he did add any signs or promotion to the shuttles when they restart in June, "They have to provide it, not me." He also said his drivers wouldn't be able to count passengers because he is only paying them to drive.

"That's really no concern of mine," Padlo said. "I'm just trying to offer a service to St. Pete Beach and St. Petersburg. What am I supposed to do, shanghai people?"

Refusing to abide by the resolution, however, would mean losing the stop on Corey Avenue, something Padlo said he is prepared to accept.

"I only put (the stop) in because they asked me to," Padlo said. "If they're going to press, I just don't see the necessity."

When reached in his office Thursday night, Schwing said he was shocked to hear Padlo's plans to ignore the city's resolution. He said Padlo never mentioned any problems at their meeting and that Padlo hadn't contacted him since.

"I thought we had a very good meeting at my office. I thought we were cooperating," Schwing said. "I would ask Ted, if he has concerns, to call me. The lines of communication are always open."

Because Padlo's bus company is allowed to make stops on private property, Schwing said the city could only take away the stop at Corey Avenue. But Schwing said the shuttle has too much potential for the city not to have a good relationship with Padlo.

He said sponsorship and promotion by St. Pete Beach would make the buses stand out from the countless other private shuttles that operate up and down the beach.

"What it means is the support we were hoping to give, we're not going to be able to do this," Schwing said. "That's an unfortunate situation. We would like to help him and make (the shuttle) successful."

Lenne Ball, a member of the Corey Avenue Merchants Association, downplayed concerns that the shuttle would pull too many people out of St. Pete Beach or cut into the BATS customer base.

"It's a win-win situation," said Ball, also the transportation director for the St. Petersburg chamber. "There's a lot to do on both sides. And if you didn't have to drive to do it, why would you?"

And when the shuttle is relaunched in June, Padlo expects it to be successful -- with or without official recognition from St. Pete Beach.

In addition to tourists, he said, locals will ride it to avoid traffic. Padlo even said there's a chance the shuttle service could someday add more buses.

"I'd be happy to run three, four or five buses if that's what is mandated," he said. "It all depends on marketing. Otherwise, it falls apart."

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