The American Public Transportation Association released a report today stating Americans took a record high number of trips on U.S. public transportation last year. People across the country took 10.7 billion rides on public transit in 2013. Since the mid '90s, ridership growth has been outpacing population growth.
The numbers in Tampa Bay are up as well, with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) closing last year with about 14.5 million rides.
"That was up about three percent from the year before," PSTA CEO Brad Miller said.
Miller was in Washington D.C. Monday, asking Congress to invest more in public transportation. He says people are looking for different ways to get around.
"The younger generations are riding transit more and driving less and in Pinellas County we're definitely looking to the future at that," he said.
Public transit advocates in Pinellas County are hoping to implement the Greenlight Pinellas Plan if a proposed 1 percent sales tax referendum passes in the November elections. The plan includes a 65 percent increase in bus service options and a start-up for light rail.
