Historical Notes for PSTA

Page was last updated on 10/12/2026.

Information regarding defunct services & other historical notes.

This page is dedicated to routes & services that PSTA no longer operates, as well as other historical notes about the agency.

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PSTA History (Blog Posts)

In late 2024, PSTA staff put together a 3-part blog post series discussing the history of public transit within Pinellas County; from the streetcars in St. Pete & Gulfport, to the days of the St. Petersburg Municipal Transit System (SPMTS) & the Central Pinellas Transit Authority (CPTA), to the evolution of PSTA’s bus fleet during the 2000s & onward. The agency has also published a post about how their system maps have evolved over time (along with other neat tidbits about transit system maps in general). I strongly encourage you to take a read!

Defunct PSTA Fixed Routes

Like any transit agency, PSTA has had its share of routes that have been discontinued – whether it was due to lower ridership levels, funding issues, or a partnership discontinuation. Below is a listing of PSTA routes that were once in service & the destinations they served. The information listed was obtained from the Wayback Machine or through preserved transit documents (i.e. schedule booklets).

Routes that were eliminated prior to 2025

Route 1 (late 1980s – late 1990s incarnation): 58th St – This route ran along 58th St from Tyrone Blvd (ending at Tyrone Square Mall) to Downtown St. Petersburg via Gulfport. Between Gulfport & Downtown St. Pete, buses would travel via 49th St S & 40th St S – serving Central Plaza (the area where Grand Central Station exists today).
Route 1 (late 1990s – mid 2010s incarnation): 1st St NE Shopper – This Monday through Saturday route once connected the Gateway area of Pinellas to Downtown St. Petersburg via 1st St NE, connecting customers to Gateway Mall, Northeast Shopping Center, Historic Old Northeast, & a portion of the Edgemoor neighborhood. The route was eliminated in 2015 due to ultra-low ridership.
Routes 3 & 35: Central Ave/Beaches: The 3 & 35 basically leap-frogged each other along the Central Ave corridor between Downtown St. Petersburg & Pasadena Ave S in terms of frequency. Basically, both routes had staggered departure times so that each route had a bus traversing Central Ave every 30 minutes combined, but individual frequency was every hour. The 3 was discontinued prior to 2015 & my understanding was due to the city of Treasure Island no longer wishing to fund direct bus service between its jurisdiction & St. Pete. As a result, Route 35 service was optimized & eventually, the service morphed into the Central Ave Trolley.
Route 6: 1st St NE – This route appears to have been an earlier incarnation of Route 1’s late 90s incarnation. Buses travelled from the Northeast Shopping Center to Downtown St. Petersburg.
Route 8: Midtown – This route appears to follow portions of where Routes 9, 20, & 24 travel today, using MLK St S, 11th Ave S, 16th St S, 15th Ave S, & 31st St S between Downtown St. Petersburg & Central Plaza.
Routes 9 & 10 (late 1980s – ? incarnation): These two routes used MLK St N between Downtown St. Petersburg & Gateway Mall – often interlining with each other. The 9’s northern terminus was the former K-Mart on 94th Ave N by MLK St N (which is today occupied by Progressive Home Insurance/ASI), while the 10 looped through the Meadowlawn neighborhood before terminating at Gateway Mall. It is very likely that these routes were absorbed into Route 59, with the 9 being resurrected in 2016 following the split up of Route 59.
Route 12: Gulfport/Pasadena – This route travelled between Downtown St. Petersburg & Palms of Pasadena Hospital via Gulfport, traversing streets by which Routes 9, 24, & 66 use today.
Route 13: St. Pete/Bay Pines – This route used 9th Ave N & 22nd Ave N between Downtown St. Petersburg & Park St via Central Plaza, terminating at the Bay Pines V.A. Hospital on the west end. Route 18 serves the hospital today, while Route 29 serve portions of 9th Ave N.
Route 16 (late 1980s – ? incarnation): Unlike today’s Route 16, the earlier version made two deviations in the Meadowlawn & East Lealman areas during the day. Buses today remain on 16th St N between 77th Ave N & 5th Ave N.
Route 17: Meadowlawn/16th St N – This route appears to be a variant of Route 16 that served the western & northern edges of the Meadowlawn neighborhood, often interlining with Route 16.
Route 20 (late 1980s – late 1990s incarnation): Route 20 back then operated as a limited stop, weekday-only rush hour service – similar to that of today’s Route 66L. Buses traveled between Downtown St. Petersburg & the Lakewood Country Club via MLK St S & 54th Ave S.
Route 22 (late 1980s – early 2000s incarnation): Route 22 has taken a couple of different forms over the years. This incarnation had buses using 22nd Ave between 4th St N & Tyrone Square Mall as is used today, but the eastern terminus was Downtown St. Petersburg. Buses meandered through Historic Old Northeast to get to/from downtown. In the early 2000s, the 22 was merged into the Route 1 shopper, which-in-turn, was eliminated in 2015 in favor of resurrecting the 22. Downtown St. Pete service on the 22 returned in 2025.
Route 24 (1980s/90s incarnation): 4th St S – This served as the southern portion of Route 4 until some point during the 1990s when the 24 & 44 services were absorbed into a singular Route 4. This route often interlined with Routes 6 & 26. The route designation returned in 2025 to largely replace sections of Routes 14 & 23, as well as small portions of Route 79.
Route 26: Coquina/Roy Hanna – This served as a variant of the 24, serving Coquina Key at all times & terminating at the transfer point at Roy Hanna Dr @ 25th Way S. This route often interlined with Routes 8 & 24, & was later absorbed into Route 4, with Route 20 serving the MLK St S portion.
Route 27: Snell Isle Limited – This weekday-only rush hour service served the communities of Snell Isle & Shore Acres – terminating at Northeast Shopping Center & Downtown St. Petersburg. When the PSTA network was redone over the course of the 1990s & 2000s, bus service to Snell Isle was lost.
Route 29 (1980s/90s incarnation): Tyrone Square/Pasadena/Grand Central – This route follows most of the path by which the former Route 79 traversed between Tyrone Square Mall & Downtown St. Petersburg until 2025 (portions of 66th St N, Pasadena Ave S, Gulfport Blvd S, 49th St S, 34th St S, & 4th/5th Ave’s S). The route designation returned in 2025 – combining sections of the former 79, along with portions formerly served by Routes 7 & 20.
Route 30: 30th Ave N – This Monday through Saturday route traversed the 30th Ave N corridor between Historic Old Northeast & Tyrone Square Mall, as well as connected to Downtown St. Petersburg. The route was eliminated in 2015 due to ultra-low ridership.
Route 32B: Downtown St. Petersburg (Clockwise) Circulator – This route served as a clockwise variant of today’s Route 32. The earlier incarnation of the 32 also had Sunday service.
Route 34 (1980s incarnation): This earlier version of Route 34 served 34th St N between Pinellas Park Transit Center (what was then Pinellas Square Mall & later ParkSide Mall) & Central Plaza. There were several deviations that the route made by which are served today by Route 11 (& also by former Route 75). It is likely that the old 34 was eliminated in favor of the then-cross-county Route 19 & also former Route 75 (the latter of which was replaced in 2025 by Routes 54 & 74B). The 34 designation was resurrected in 2016 when Route 19 was split into two routes in Largo to improve reliability.
Route 36X: This weekday-only intercounty express route shuttled customers between Tyrone Square Mall & Downtown St. Petersburg using limited stops & a premium fare of 75 cents (as of 1989).
Route 40X: This weekday-only intercounty express route shuttled customers between Gateway Mall & Downtown St. Petersburg using limited stops & a premium fare of 75 cents (as of 1989). This route will be resurrected in the form of future SunRunner BRT service in the distant future due to the 4th St corridor being heavily utilized today.
Route 44: 4th St N/Gateway Mall – This route appears to have been a supplement to Route 4, traveling between Downtown St. Petersburg & Gateway Mall via 4th St N.
Route 49: 49th St N Limited – This weekday-only limited-stop/commuter route appears to have been an early incarnation of Route 97, traveling between Downtown St. Petersburg & the Pinellas County Judicial Complex on 49th St N @ 140th Ave N during rush hours. The route designation returned in 2025 to replace the southern (south of the PSTA Complex) section of Route 52, as well as a large portion of Route 14.
Route 55X: This weekday-only intercounty express route shuttled customers between Downtown St Petersburg & Downtown Clearwater via Seminole Blvd & Tyrone Square Mall using limited stops & a premium fare of 75 cents (as of 1989). This route will be resurrected in the form of future SunRunner BRT service in the distant future due to the Seminole Blvd corridor being heavily utilized today. Local service along most of this corridor is done via Route 18 today. Future limited-stop premium branded service along the Seminole Blvd corridor is currently being proposed.
Route 63: Clearwater/Nursery Rd – This service meandered through parts of Clearwater that no longer have direct bus service – specifically Nursery Rd. Think of it as the “longer” version of Route 60.
Route 64 (1980s incarnation): Clearwater/Seminole – This Monday through Saturday local service ran limited trips between Clearwater & Seminole via Highland Ave, East/West Bay Drives, & Indian Rocks Rd. A portion of this route is served today by Route 65, while the portion via Highland Ave is served by Route 73.
Route 64 (2000s incarnation): Tarpon Springs/Oldsmar – This weekday only service once connected Tarpon Springs (the current transfer point at Huey Ave & Tarpon Ave) to Oldsmar via Tampa Rd. The route also served the Tri-County Business Park off Race Track Rd (this goes back to when Hillsborough Area Regional Transit ran their defunct Route 58LX & 59LX services to the same business park). There was also a Park-N-Ride Lot off Hwy 580 to help facilitate ridership to & from the business park. However, with shifting demographic & commuting tastes, ridership faltered & all three routes (the 64 & both HART services) were discontinued.
Route 65 (1980s incarnation): The old 65 is much different than today’s 65, as buses travelled between Downtown Clearwater & Philippe Park. Service along SR 590 was largely lost in the midst of route restructuring over the years – with sections of Route 62 & 76 replacing some residual portions. Route 814 would later take up the Safety Harbor section until on-demand services replaced fixed routes in eastern portions of Clearwater & Safety Harbor.
Route 66 (1990s – 2016 Incarnation): What ultimately morphed in Route 66L (which operated until 2025) originally operated as a standard local route with hourly frequency Monday through Saturday – operating between Tarpon Springs & Indian Rocks via Clearwater Park St Terminal. The route was significantly altered in 2016 to only operate during weekday peak hours & between Tarpon Springs & Clearwater.
Route 68 (1980s incarnation): Like today’s 65, the old 68 followed a completely different path than its successor. In fact, the old 68 wasn’t even in St. Pete, it ran in Dunedin & Tarpon Springs, serving the Sponge Docks in the latter & Countryside Mall via the former.
Route 69: This Monday through Saturday service provided a link to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks via US 19, terminating at Countryside Mall.
Route 70: This version of the 70 was a localized circulator in the Oldsmar community. Portions of this route was replaced with Routes 62 & 67, with Route 812 serving the State Rd 580 corridor. The Route 70 designation returned in 2025 to serve Drew St in Clearwater.
Route 71: This route pre-dates the Suncoast Beach Trolley & today’s Route 68, starting at the Indian Rocks Shopping Center & travelling down Gulf Blvd to John’s Pass Village, before using the Tom Stuart Causeway & Tyrone Blvd to connect to Tyrone Square Mall. While there was an early proposal in 2024 to reuse this route designation to replace Route 62, the decision was made to retain the 62 instead – though its northern (north of Countryside Mall) section was relegated to Route 78A in 2025.
Route 72: This Monday through Saturday service used 58th Ave N between Tyrone Square Mall & Pinellas Park, then meandered through Pinellas Park until reaching the Mainlands retirement community. Most of the areas that were served by the 72 during the 80s & 90s has been lost to later system restructurings.
Route 77: Clearwater/Gateway Limited – This weekday-only route contained only a couple of runs to connect Downtown Clearwater & the Gateway region. Buses terminated at Gateway Mall.
Route 80: Clearwater Beach Circulator – The 80 pre-dated today’s Suncoast Beach Trolley & circulated around Clearwater Beach, connecting tourists & residents between the beach & the Park St Terminal in downtown Clearwater.
Route 81: Clearwater/Seminole Local – The 80 service is a variant of what is today the 18 – serving Seminole Blvd between Downtown Clearwater & Tyrone Square Mall.
Route 82: Clearwater/Countryside via Safety Harbor – This Monday through Saturday route traversed areas of northern Pinellas between Park St Terminal & Westfield Countryside Mall that are now served by either Route 78 or 814, though a portion along Sunset Point Rd lost service completely when the 82 was eliminated. There was also a branch that served the Clearwater Fundamental Middle School on weekdays – which is now taken up by Route 66L.
Route 83: Dunedin Circulator – This local service meandered through Clearwater & Dunedin, where Routes 61 & 78 serve portions of today. There was also limited service to the Caladesi Island Ferry Terminal.
Route 91: East St. Petersburg/Oldsmar Commuter – This weekday-only rush hour commuter was among several such routes that were abolished during the course of the 2010s due to shifting commuting patterns. It connected customers from the Hwy 580 Park-N-Ride Lot in Oldsmar to the Grand Central District & Highland Oaks neighborhood of St. Pete. The route designation returned in 2025 to replace the 66L designation (Route 66L in terms of routing did not change, just the route number changed).
Route 92: Clearwater/Oldsmar Commuter – This weekday-only rush hour commuter was another 90-series route that was eventually eliminated due to shifting commuting patterns. It connected customers from the Hwy 580 Park-N-Ride Lot in Oldsmar to Downtown Clearwater.
Route 94: Tarpon Springs/Clearwater Fundamental Middle School Tripper – This was a dedicated school tripper route that served the Clearwater Fundamental Middle School on weekdays. An earlier version of the route ran down US Hwy 19 between Tarpon Springs & the Honeywell facility off US Hwy 19.
Route 95: Tarpon Springs/Largo Commuter – This weekday-only rush hour commuter ran down US 19 between Tarpon Springs & Largo.
Route 96: South St. Pete/Carillon Commuter – This was one of three 90-series commuter routes that were originally designed to serve the Carillon Business Park in the northern Gateway area of St. Pete. This route traveled from the Skyway Marina District of south St. Pete to Grand Central Station, & then up I-275 to Carillon, & then terminating at the ICOT Center Business Park off Ulmerton Rd.
Route 97: Downtown St. Pete/Carillon Commuter – This was the second of three 90-series routes to connect customers to the Carillon Business Park. It traversed 1st Ave N/S between Downtown St. Pete & Grand Central Station, then up 49th St N to the PSTA 34th St N Transfer Center, Carillon, & then the Pinellas County Justice Center off 49th St N. This & the 98 were replaced by Route 52LX in 2019.
Route 98: Downtown Clearwater/Carillon Commuter – This was the third of three 90-series routes to connect customers to the Carillon Business Park. It traversed Clearwater-Largo Rd from the Park St Terminal, then traveled east-west along E/W Bay Dr, past the Pinellas County Justice Center on 49th St N, then served the PSTA 34th St N Transfer Center & Carillon. This & the 97 were replaced by the 52LX in 2019.
Route 444: Pinellas Park Circulator – This was the oddball route of them all when it comes to the PSTA system, yes we’re not talking about the Wendy’s 4 for 4 deal here. This was a circulator that served many destinations within Pinellas Park – including Shoppes at Park Place (previously known as ParkSide Mall). The route’s ridership dropped over time as commuting habits changed & it was eventually eliminated in 2016 in favor of the PSTA Direct Connect program & other PSTA routes.
Evening Dial-A-Bus: During the 1980s & 90s, PSTA provided an evening dial-by-phone reservation service called Dial-A-Bus. This allowed customers to contact PSTA customer service & reserve a spot for a bus that would travel along key corridors to get to where they needed to go between 6:30pm & 10:10pm Monday through Saturday. Guides were provided at customer service centers & other locations for reference. While the principles of the service were useful, lack of efficient technologies made it difficult to sustain the service long-term. With the advent of newer technologies, PSTA has introduced Direct Connect as a long-awaited replacement to the Dial-A-Bus service.

Now, keep in mind that the above list encompasses just a portion of PSTA’s overall history. Many other routes once existed – including those that didn’t survive past 1980, which was just prior to the merger of the St. Pete & Central Pinellas bus systems.

Routes that were eliminated in 2025 as a direct result of the Connected Community Bus Plan system redesign

The following routes were axed when PSTA enacted its first sweeping system redesign since 2015/16.

Route 7 – Downtown St. Petersburg/Tyrone Square via 9th Ave N/Midtown: Served Downtown St. Petersburg, Jordan Park, Campbell Park, Grand Central Station, Tyrone Gardens Shopping Center, & Tyrone Square Mall. The route was replaced by portions of Routes 5, 9B, 29, & 66.
Route 14 – Pasadena/Midtown: Served Downtown St. Petersburg, Bayfront Medical Center Hospital, 18 Ave S, Grand Central Station, Gulfport Blvd, Pasadena Ave, & Palms of Pasadena Hospital. The route was replaced by portions of Routes 9A, 24, & 49.
Route 15 – Gulfport/Midtown: Served Downtown St. Petersburg, 15th Ave S, Gibbs High School, Grand Central Station, Town Shores Apartments, & Gulfport Casino. The route was replaced by portions of Routes 9A & 66.
Route 23 – Downtown St. Petersburg/Tyrone Square via 22nd Ave S/Gulfport: Served Tyrone Square Mall, Gulfport Casino, Lakeview Shopping Center, 22 Ave S, & Downtown St. Petersburg. The route was replaced by portions of Routes 18B, 24, & 66.
Route 32 – Downtown St. Petersburg Circulator (previously known as Route 32A): Served Downtown St. Petersburg, Sunshine Senior Center, Mirror Lake Area, St. Anthony’s Hospital, John Knox Apartments, Tropicana Field, Graham Park, Bayfront Medical Center, All Children’s Hospital, Suncoast Medical Center, University Walk Publix. The route was replaced by portions of Route 16, with several other routes being in walking distance.
Route 52LX – East Bay Dr/49th St Limited Express: This weekday-only limited stop variant of the 52 traversed the entire length of the local 52, but with less stops and service to the Carillon Business Park & was meant to be a direct replacement for Routes 97 & 98. The 52LX was ultimately eliminated in favor of splitting Route 52 due in large part to Covid’s effects on the Carillon Business Park (hybrid & full remote work taking hold). Access to Carillon is maintained via Direct Connect service, as well as walking to Route 4 stops on 28th St N by Scherer Dr N.
Route 66L – Tarpon Springs/Clearwater Limited: Served Tarpon Springs, Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, Tarpon Mall, Alternate 19, Causeway Plaza, Bayshore Blvd, Main St/580, Mease Manor, Patricia/Highland Ave, Sunset Point Rd, Clearwater Fundamental Middle School (only when classes are in session), Downtown Clearwater (Park Street Terminal). The route itself was not eliminated but its route number was changed to Route 91. The 66 designation is now used for Route 79’s replacement.
Route 67 – Clearwater/Oldsmar: Served Downtown Clearwater (Park Street Terminal), Drew St, Hercules Ave, Countryside Mall, Enterprise Rd, McMullen Booth Rd/611, SR 580, Tampa Rd/584, Oldsmar City Hall, Downtown Oldsmar, Nielsen Media Research. Portions of Route 67 were replaced with Route 78B.
Route 68 – John’s Pass/Tyrone Square: Served Tyrone Square Mall, Tyrone Blvd, Bay Pines VA Medical Center (buses do not enter the complex), Bay Pines VA Regional Office (buses do not enter the complex), Maderia Beach Shopping Center, Gulf Blvd, John’s Pass Village. This route was replaced with an extended Route 38 to Madiera Beach. Those wishing to connect to John’s Pass Village can transfer to the Suncoast Beach Trolley at 150th Ave.
Route 75 – 54th Ave N: Served Gateway Mall, Shoppes at Park Place (Pinellas Park Transit Center), US 19/34 St N, 54th Ave N, Five Towns, Park Street, 22nd Ave N, Tyrone Square Mall. The portion of Route 75 serving 54th Ave N was retained but renumbered as Route 54. The portion serving 62nd Ave N was replaced with Route 74B.
Route 76 – Countryside/Clearwater via Top of the World: Served Downtown Clearwater (Park Street Terminal), Cleveland St, St. Petersburg College, On Top of the World East and West (most trips – see schedule), Countryside Mall (SR 580 @ Summerdale Dr). This route was replaced in large part by Route 70, but the portions serving Countryside Mall & the On Top of the World condo complex was lost entirely in terms of fixed route service. The Snapper on-demand van service does provide a link to the complex & surrounding destinations if traveling to/from Countryside Mall or PSTA’s Park St Terminal in Downtown Clearwater.
Route 79 – 66th St N: Served Largo Commons WalMart (Largo Transit Center), 58th St, Ulmerton Rd, 66 St N, Park 66 Shopping Center, Tyrone Square Mall, St. Petersburg College, Lutheran Residences, Bethany Towers, Pasadena Shopping Center, Gulfport Blvd/22 Ave S, 5 Ave S, Grand Central Station, Downtown St. Petersburg. This route was redesignated as Route 66 & the portions Grand Central Station to the 66th St corridor & northward were largely retained. The portions east of Grand Central Station was replaced by sections of Route 9.
Route 812 – SR 580/Oldsmar/Town-N-Country: Van Route – Served Countryside Mall (SR 580 @ Summerdale Dr), Countryside Blvd, Curlew Rd, Curlew Creek Elementary, McMullen Booth Rd, Shoppes at Boot Ranch, East Lake Woodlands Shopping Center, Oldsmar Sports Complex, SR 580/584 (Tampa Rd/Hillsborough Ave), Oldsmar Flea Market, North Bay Shopping Center, Sheldon Rd, HART Northwest Transfer Center. The route was largely replaced with Route 78A.

Routes that were eliminated after the 2025 system redesign

Route 90 – St. Pete Beach/Skyway Marina District: This was the last of the legacy 90-series intracounty commuter routes & was among the longest of such routes to have survived over the years. The route was focused on bringing workforce commuters to & from St. Pete Beach – serving southern St. Pete (Pinellas Point area) & Grand Central Station. Prior to 2022, the route operated as a clockwise loop in the morning & a counter-clockwise loop in the afternoon. There was also a late morning shortened bi-directional trip that ran between the Pinellas Point area & St. Pete Beach only. After 2022, the Grand Central Station portions of the route were removed & the service pattern was switched to bidirectional on all trips – with the northern terminus moved to the 75th Ave/Gulf Blvd transfer point. Due to low ridership, funding constraints, & a lack of interest from beach businesses to continue supporting the route, the 90 was eliminated in the fall of 2026.

Route 100 – St. Petersburg/South Tampa/Downtown Tampa Express: What originally began as a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) intercounty express bus experiment in the early 1980s, the 100 (originally known as the 100X) was a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) operated service – running between Downtown Tampa & the Gateway portion of Pinellas County. Operation shifted to PSTA in 2003 & its overall service pattern had seen few changes over the years. After 2018, the route was extended to serve Downtown St. Pete, allowing both downtowns to be served directly on a one-seat trip for the first time. In 2025, discussions began about ultimately eliminating Route 100 service due to limited ridership opportunities & funding constraints amid the continued inability to launch Route 727 service – which had been proposed for at least a decade with no local or county funds available on either Pinellas or Hillsborough’s end. With existing FDOT funding poised to be renewed & the only way to sustain the 100, 300, & 727 together was passage of a countywide sales tax referendum (which failed in 2014 in Pinellas & has had a winding battle in Hillsborough with multiple failures & one state court overturn following initial passage in 2018), PSTA decided to eliminate the 100 in the fall of 2026 in favor of launching the 727. Full compensatory service will likely arrive in 2027 in the form of the Tampa Bay Ferry service between Downtown St. Pete & Downtown Tampa.
Snapper Safety Harbor: Initially launched in 2025 as part of the CCBN (systen redesign) the service has suffered from low usage & was ceased in the fall of 2026. A Direct Connect stop was placed in the area to provide connectivity to surrounding PSTA fixed bus routes.

PSTA North County Connector

The PSTA North County Connector was a flexible-route neighborhood circulator service that provided a combination of door-to-door service via advance reservation and travel along a fixed circulatory route serving designated stops. A fleet of cutaway vans enable customers to travel from their doorstep to school, work, shopping, and other local destinations within their flex zone.

With a reservation, one could travel virtually anywhere within the flex zone. Customers could also walk up to designated stops along the fixed route and wait for the van to arrive, just like a regular fixed bus route. Connections to points of interest (such as schools, shopping centers, and government buildings) and PSTA Local routes were made at specific points within the flex zone.

History

Following the launch of HART Flex by Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), PSTA was already planning its own flex van service aimed at serving residents in northern Pinellas County, most of which had no access to transit services. Additionally, much of northern Pinellas mainly comprises of subdivisions by which normal transit buses are too large to access, making the use of cutaway vans more viable to carry out the services needed. Three flex zones were identified; Oldsmar/Countryside/Tampa, Dunedin/Palm Harbor, and East Lake, which all began service on December 10, 2012. While the Oldsmar/Countryside/Tampa and Dunedin zones have become sustainable, the East Lake zone suffered lower than projected ridership and as a result, was eliminated on October 11, 2015.

In October of 2016, changes were made to both the Oldsmar/Tampa and the Dunedin/Palm Harbor Connector Routes to serve areas with higher demand. In February of 2017, the Dunedin/Palm Harbor Connector was split into two routes at Westfield Countryside. The Dunedin/Palm Harbor Connector continued to serve the Palm Harbor and Dunedin communities while the Safety Harbor Connector provides service to the Safety Harbor community.

In October of 2019, PSTA discontinued providing flex service due to low usage of flex deviations & vans chronically running behind schedule due to such deviations – despite efforts to build extra time into the printed schedules. The three existing flex routes were then converted into standard fixed routes.

Fleet

Photo Credit: Carlos A. — The original North County Connector cutaway van fleet comprised of 2012-series Ford Econoline 450 vehicles, #’s 1225 through 1232. Photo credit: Carlos A.

When the North County Connector first launched in 2012, a fleet of eight Ford Econoline cutaway vans were ordered. However, they were phased out in 2015 apparently due to manufacturer defects. Overall, these vans only saw a maximum of about two years in service before being pulled out of service. As a result, two 2002-series and five 2005-series 30-foot Gillig Low Floor transit buses have been retained as a stopgap measure until new cutaway vans could be ordered.

IMG_20151017_094544 — #2530 on layover at Shoppes at Boot Ranch. This is one of five 2005-series 30-foot Gilligs that were retained for North County Connector service until new cutaway vans could be ordered.

At the beginning of 2018, PSTA ordered eight new 2018-series Freightliner Defender cutaway vans, #’s 1801 through 1808. These were delivered in November, 2018 and were placed into service in January, 2019. The introduction of these vans have effectively sidelined the 30-foot Gilligs, though the latter are being retained for now used as spares if needed.

# 1803 enters the Westfield Countryside Mall parking lot.

Flex Zones

The North County Connector comprised of the following zones.

East Lake (Route 811):
- Service from Shoppes at Boot Ranch to Tarpon Mall.
- Eliminated in 2015 due to low usage. The East Lake Shuttle service remains available.
Tampa/Oldsmar Connector (Route 812):
- Service from Westfield Countryside Mall to the HART Northwest Transfer Center in Town-N-Country via Shoppes at Boot Ranch and Oldsmar (via State Rd 580).
- Was converted to fixed-route service after 2018 & was ultimately replaced in 2025 by Route 78A.
Dunedin/Palm Harbor Connector (Route 813):
- Service from Westfield Countryside Mall to the Palm Harbor WalMart (Alderman Rd and US Hwy 19) via downtown Dunedin (State Rd 580).
- Was eliminated in December of 2023 due to low usage.
Safety Harbor Connector (Route 814):
- Service from Westfield Countryside Mall to Phillippe Park via McMullen Booth Rd and downtown Safety Harbor (Main St).
- Was converted to the Safety Harbor On-Demand service, which later morphed into Snapper Safety Harbor – the latter of which was eliminated in the fall of 2026.

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