A decade in the making, region’s first bus rapid transit line debuts

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s new SunRunner route served more than 10,000 riders in its first four days of operation.

By Brian Hartz
| 1:50 p.m. October 26, 2022
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The SunRunner welcomed passengers starting at 6 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 25. More than 10,000 people used the service in its first four days. (Courtesy photo)

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

With fanfare and speeches that wouldn’t be out of place at a political rally, the SunRunner — Tampa Bay’s first bus rapid transit line — debuted to the public on Thursday, Oct. 20, at a launch party in downtown St. Petersburg.

The event featured members of the St. Petersburg High School marching band, the Tampa Bay Rays and Rowdies mascots and a ribbon-cutting ceremony complete with bursts of confetti. Less than 24 hours later, at 6 a.m. Friday, the SunRunner’s first passengers boarded in St. Pete Beach for a quick trip to downtown St. Pete made possible by dedicated lanes and raised platforms for faster and safer embarking and debarking.