Bus Route Would Include Stops in Land O’ Lakes

The days of having to fill up the gas tank to make it from Land O’ Lakes to New Port Richey or Zephyrhills and back again may soon be over.

Pasco County Public Transportation has a new cross-county route in mind that is anticipated to go online sometime in early 2012. The new route would run from the Medical Center of Trinity, east on State Road 54, to The Shops at Wiregrass and The Grove in Wesley Chapel. It would eventually make its way to the Zephyrhills City Hall.

The planned route would also feature stops along State Road 54 and U.S. 41 to accommodate residents living in the Land O’ Lakes area, county officials say. Land O' Lakes currently has no bus stops on the PCPT system.

According to PCPT public transportation manager Mike Carroll, the county is still “fine-tuning this route.” The plan right now is to have it start service at 5:30 a.m. and run through 7:15 p.m. with a 2-hour frequency of service.

“This route will connect at both ends (of the county) with existing local service routes to provide additional access throughout east and west Pasco,” Carroll said. 

The project comes with a $225,000 annual operating budget, but its initial funding is being provided by the Florida Department of Transportation, Carroll said. The money is coming from FDOT’s Transit Corridor Funding Grant Program.

Carroll estimates the new route would serve about 35,000 passenger trips in its first year.

The new route is something the county needs, Carroll said.

“State Road 54 is a major travel corridor in Pasco and is also regionally significant in terms of strategic importance for the Tampa Bay area,” he said. “In addition, Pasco County has designated this corridor in its strategic business plan as a transit emphasis corridor in creating market areas for commercial and residential development throughout southern Pasco County.”

PCPT will add two full-time and two part-time operators when the route goes online, Carroll said.

The current one-way fare for PCPT routes is $1.50. A one-day unlimited ride pass costs $3.75. Reduced rate fares are also available.

For more information about existing bus service, visit PCPT online.