A planned bus rapid transit (BRT) project, which will link Downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach, is taking another step forward with the reveal of branding and a catchy name inspired by the areas it will connect. Dubbed the “SunRunner,” the project will be the first bus rapid transit line in the Tampa Bay region and is also the first local project to receive funding from the federal Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program.

Bus rapid transit is a form of bus service that features limited stops and more frequent service. The SunRunner BRT line will travel in semi-dedicated lanes and will have signal priority at certain intersections. A trip from Downtown St. Pete to the beach is expected to take under 35 minutes.  

With a route connecting the Sunshine City, St. Pete, with the Sunset Capital of Florida, St. Pete Beach, the name SunRunner came naturally. The SunRunner’s logo features natural beach tones with blues, yellows, and reds and will use the tag line “Beach to ‘Burg.” The branding will help differentiate the rapid transit line from other buses in the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) system.

“The name, design and colors are symbolic of the local flare and fittingly the SunRunner will operate from where the sun rises to where the sun sets,” said Brad Miller, Chief Executive Officer of PSTA.

Since the project’s inception in 2015 it has gone by the informal placeholder name “Central Avenue BRT” reflecting the corridor the route will serve. However that name has confused some locals because the bus route will actually run primarily along 1st Avenue North and 1st Avenue South – not Central Avenue. This new name helps better tie the route to its destinations.

In addition to revealing the route’s official name, PSTA also announced that local artist Catharine Woods is helping to incorporate public art into some of the SunRunner stations. The art is being funded through the City of St. Petersburg’s Art in Transit project and will cost $750,000. Woods is expected to design 32 glass panels which will utilize images of local flora and fauna. She says this project will be a visual “love letter” to St. Petersburg. Woods also designed the Community DNA sculpture outside of the St. Pete Police Department headquarters building, which opened in 2019.

Elected officials in St. Petersburg have been big supporters of the BRT project and have already contributed $4 million to see its completion. The Arts in Transit project is just the latest sign of this support.

“Incorporating art into this project was both important and fitting given St. Petersburg’s connection and support of the arts,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. “This area is also known for its vibrant, colorful street art, from murals to sculptures. The art scene is alive and well in our community and the locals are proud of it and I’m glad it’s reflected in this critical project.”

The SunRunner’s 40-foot buses will be designed by local artist Chad Mize and prominently feature the iconic Mr. Sun character, which was created in the 1940’s to promote St. Petersburg. Mr. Sun recently regained prominence after Mize featured the character in a mural on St. Pete’s 600 block. Mr. Sun’s smiling face will adorn each SunRunner bus and is set on a teal, or blue-green, backdrop.

The branding announcement for the highly anticipated project comes just weeks after securing federal funding via a tweet from President Trump. The $44 million project will be complimented by pedestrian safety improvements as well as potential land use and zoning changes for the neighborhoods along the route.

“This is the next chapter in a brand new future of transportation options for our citizens that will make our community more economically competitive and the best place possible to live, work, and play,” says Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long.

Construction on the SunRunner stations is expected to begin later this summer with buses arriving sometime in 2021. Completion of the project is expected in 2022.

Once complete, the SunRunner will feature nine buses and 31 stations, 21 of which are in St. Petersburg, and will run a 20 mile roundtrip route between 6AM and midnight with buses coming every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the late evenings.

More information on the SunRunner bus rapid transit project can be found on PSTA’s website.