What is public transportation like in the Sarasota/St Petersburg/Tampa FL area?

Question

Im from NY and there is many efficent ways to travel anywhere without using my car.. there is a broad network of train/subway, bus, ferry/boat and cabs available throughout the NYC/LongIsland/upstate/NJ/CT regions.

Im moving to the Sarasota/St Petersburg/Tampa FL

so....

How is the transportation system in Sarasota/St Petersburg/Tampa ...?

What forms of public transportation do they have?

Efficient and fast and cover many locations?...

are they safe and clean?....

What regions do they cover?

THANKS!!

Answer 1

You will have limited public transport available in the Tampa Bay metro area compared to NYC.  The two main operators are Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) and Pinellas SunCoast Transit Authority (PSTA).

The mission of HART is to provide public transportation services, which are safe, dependable, and cost effective thereby enhancing the quality of life in the community.

PSTA is the public transit provider in Pinellas County, Florida, operating 163 buses and 20 trolleys that serve 37 regular and 6 commuter routes. In addition, two express buses travel between Pinellas County and Tampa, and the popular Suncoast Beach Trolley connects the Gulf Beaches from Sand Key to Pass-a-Grille.

I am more familiar with HART and they are a good operation.  I think that the TECO Line Streetcar System is really cool and if you can live and work along that line it would be awesome (and less expensive than Manhattan, but I am not sure about that).

There are other operators to check out listed on the 511 link below.