Travelers can now catch a direct bus from downtown St. Petersburg to Tampa International Airport, with a new express route running seven days a week across the Howard Frankland Bridge.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority launched its 727 Airport Express on Sunday, Oct. 4, giving airport employees, visitors and travelers a new way to cross Tampa Bay without driving or paying for airport parking. The service runs from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., using the Howard Frankland Bridge’s express lanes to provide a more direct connection between downtown St. Petersburg and the airport.
The new route also connects with the SunRunner, the bus rapid transit service linking downtown St. Petersburg with St. Pete Beach, and PSTA’s broader network of 41 fixed-route bus routes. Those connections give riders from other parts of Pinellas County access to the airport through the downtown transfer point.
The airport service arrives as part of a broader October overhaul of Pinellas County’s bus network, which also eliminated two existing routes. PSTA discontinued Routes 90 and 100 on Oct. 4, the same day the 727 Airport Express began operating, and adjusted schedules on several other routes.
PSTA will formally celebrate the new service Thursday, Oct. 8, with a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting at Tampa International Airport’s SkyCenter Drive location. PSTA CEO Brad Miller and airport CEO Michael Stephens are expected to attend, along with Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen, South Pasadena Vice Mayor Tom Reid and St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chris Steinocher.
The 727 Airport Express adds another cross-bay connection to a transit system that provides approximately 10.7 million rides annually, including two existing express routes to downtown Tampa. Riders can find route information at psta.net/727.