Florida’s Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) board approved the purchase of three additional SunRunner buses.

The 40-foot hybrid electric buses will help meet capacity needs as ridership continues to climb, especially during special events along the 10.3-mile corridor. The additional buses will ensure 15-minute frequency every hour during the day. Funding for the buses will be from the project coming $5 million dollars under budget.

“As the ridership numbers show, the SunRunner is our most popular route and with these new buses we will be able to move more people in fast and convenient way,” said Brad Miller, CEO of PSTA.

In terms of ridership, more than 115,000 people used the SunRunner in March alone and as of this week, the service has had more than 635,000 riders since its launch.

PSTA’s SunRunner

The SunRunner is also helping people get to special events like Halloween on Central, Localtopia, and the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which all saw ridership numbers surpass 10,000 on their respective weekends.

“I am proud that PSTA continues its work to improve an already impressive service,” said Gina Driscoll, Chair of the PSTA Board. “By coming in under budget and making plans to add more buses and a new station closer to the Pier, PSTA is enhancing our quality of life and helping to drive our economy.”

The buses will be arriving by Spring of next year.