A regional lifeline for transportation-disadvantaged residents in Pinellas County has ended due to an unexpected lapse in state funding. (Photo courtesy of Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority)

The road to life-saving medical care has hit a dead end for hundreds of low-income Pinellas County residents who lack reliable, affordable transportation.

A stroke-of-the-pen veto by Gov. Ron DeSantis has dismantled the Pinellas County Transit Authority’s (PSTA) lifeline for transportation-disadvantaged patients. TD Tampa Bay, a curb-to-curb service that ferried residents across county lines for essential medical treatments, quietly ended on July 31.

PSTA spokesperson Amanda Boisen told Power Broker Magazine that many users were cancer patients. The agency relied on a $409,338 state grant to fund TD Tampa Bay between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

“During that time, TD Tampa Bay provided more than 6,000 trips to nearly 200 low-income residents for life-sustaining medical care at Moffitt Cancer Center and other locations,” Boisen said.

Instead of utilizing multi-stop buses, PSTA partnered with rideshare and wheelchair transport companies to offer the door-to-door service. TD Tampa Bay served patients whose income fell below 200% of the federal poverty line - $31,920 for one person - and had no other reliable means of transportation.

While the state’s Innovative Service Development grant ended on June 30, Boisen noted that PSTA “chose to give riders as much notice as possible to find alternatives for their transportation needs.” Tapping separate, local funding provided patients with nearly 400 rides throughout July.

There is a sliver of hope for those left stranded: A $50,000 grant recently awarded by Uber. PSTA is determining if the money could “assist a small portion of riders for life-sustaining trips, hopefully sometime later this fall,” Boisen said.

“Beyond that, we will be exploring other options in hopes of bringing back this cross-county service in the future,” she added. “We’re exploring other funding options, but nothing I can share at the moment.”

The gaping hole in the region’s transportation infrastructure extends throughout Florida.

The veto affects similar programs throughout Florida. (Photo courtesy of Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority)

In 2022, TB Tampa Bay replaced a previous regional transportation program that also ended due to a lack of funding. The new service was a rare win for public transit advocates.

Florida’s Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged funded TB Tampa Bay and similar initiatives statewide through its Innovative Service Development Program (ISDP). The agency exists to provide low-income and disabled residents with necessary transportation to medical appointments, employment, educational, and other life-sustaining services,” according to its website.

Term-limited DeSantis eliminated $6 million earmarked for the ISDP from the state’s $117.6 billion budget in late June - without explanation. The appropriation appears as line item 2054-1 on page 13 of the governor’s veto list.

Special Needs Trust by State noted that the “commission’s own records show it requesting the program’s continuation and presenting funding recommendations as late as June 11.” The governor’s official announcement did not mention the life-saving program.

While intra-county transportation-disadvantaged services will continue, St. Petersburg City Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders lamented the loss of the popular TD Tampa Bay program in a recent social media post. She also highlighted how it provided “life-sustaining, cross-county trips,” primarily to Moffitt and other medical facilities outside of Pinellas.

“Lord have mercy!” Figgs-Sanders succinctly concluded.

The state commission will host its first meeting since the veto on Sept. 17. For information on how to advocate for ISDP funding, visit the website here.