If you use a local transit agency's services connected to Uber or Lyft, they could be going away soon.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority discussed the potential changes on Wednesday, and how it could impact thousands of its riders.
Late last year, the Federal Transit Administration said it made a mistake by allowing local transit agencies to partner with companies like Uber and Lyft for services, since those companies don't drug test their drivers.
Now, the FTA is trying to update that regulation, barring local transit agencies from contracting with the ride-share companies.
PSTA was the first transit agency in the country to contract with Uber, as the service became more widely known.
Seeking community input
PSTA Executive Director Brad Miller says he's hoping the community speaks out against the change.
"We are working very hard to make sure that the public here in Pinellas knows about this potential problem. And this would require us to eliminate our mobility-on-demand program, and that would be a major degradation in service,” Miller said.
That would also potentially eliminate programs like TD Late Shift, which helps people who are physically disabled struggle with standard transit options, or Direct Connect, which gives people discounted Uber, Lyft or Taxi rides to PSTA bus stops.
Miller said the programs using ride-share companies have been largely successful, and the way people have used them have changed over the years.
“Before, they pretty much only used it to go to doctors or to the pharmacy,” Miller said. “Now, they use it for everything. They use it to go to a restaurant, they go to the movies, they go to a Rays game on it … just has really improved mobility for a great group of our people that need more mobility because they have a disability. So this is very concerning.”
Numbers show their benefit
Data presented to the PSTA Board on Wednesday showed that over 100,000 more people used the Uber and Lyft services tied to PSTA in the 2024 Fiscal Year versus their direct para-transit services, while also costing about $4 million less.
Miller also said there haven’t been any noticeable dangers for transit riders using those services that don’t drug-test.
“Our own data shows that the safety data for Uber and Lyft kinds of rides are equivalent, or even better than the equivalent type of service of the drug tested employees based on their records,” Miller said.
If the contracts with Uber and Lyft were prohibited, Miller said creating similar programs that can handle the same workload would be nearly impossible, since Uber and Lyft have hundreds of drivers in the metro area that PSTA doesn’t have to worry about training themselves.
PSTA board member Brian Scott says those numbers show the benefits of Uber and Lyft.
"I just don't envision this really taking place just because of that financial impact, and the rider impact it’s going to have on mobility across the entire nation … that would be so huge," Scott said.
Scott and other board members say they're also not too concerned the regulation will pass, considering the Trump administration typically leans toward less regulation.
Miller said PSTA and other local transit agencies are using their lobbyists to push back against the potential change.
Transit agencies around the country and the public are submitting comments about the change until Feb. 13.
