AMENITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM GUIDELINES
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) is accepting applications for the Amenity
Partnership Program. The program will provide matching funds to cities in Pinellas County for
the purchase of eligible transit shelter upgrades and other transit supportive amenities within
areas of transit supportive plans and investments. All amenity requests submitted to or
initiated by PSTA undergo a review process to ensure that they meet appropriate and
reasonable criteria for consideration.
PSTA provides a variety of amenities as part of our delivery of public transit. This program will
provide funding to cities towards the purchase and installation of upgraded bus shelters, ADA
compliant landing pads, and other transit related amenities (such as benches, bicycle racks, and
walking paths adjacent or leading to transit stops) in conjunction with PSTA’s regular program
of amenity provision and replacement. PSTA can also assist city staff in the identification of
locations which would be eligible for the program.
PROGRAM APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY AND SCORING
Eligibility Requirements:





Applicants must be from a jurisdiction within the County of Pinellas boundary area.
Applicants must have a plan for an area within their jurisdiction to invest in
infrastructure that will increase transit usage, walkability and economic development.
Applicants must develop a list of bus stops within the plan area where they would like to
have shelters placed, replaced or removed, preferably on a GIS map.
Applicants must be able to provide a capital improvement list for the plan area including
local matching funds to the request for amenity assistance.
Applicants must be prepared to maintain the shelter or other amenities on a regular
basis subject to agreement and approval by PSTA.
Applicants must identify any local plans for existing or future transit corridor improvements
identification of ridership volumes at bus stops, consistency with various plans and
identification of current bus stop amenities.
Applicants must complete the attached application form and submit to PSTA. While
applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, applications will be assessed quarterly on the
first of January, April, July, and October of each year against any other applications submitted
within the preceding quarter and budget availability. For a list of shelter distributors, please
visit the PSTA website at www.psta.net/amenityprogram.php or contact program staff
at (727) 540-1804.
PSTA AMENITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION • Page | 1
Scoring:
The scoring criteria for the Program is based on four factors which will be assessed with
different weight as follows:

Ridership and Bus Stop Location (20 points)
Each applicant must identify stops within the local plan area where bus shelters are
requested to be added, replaced, or removed.
In order for shelters to have a maximum impact, PSTA has set a minimum ridership
threshold of 25 passengers per day at any bus location to warrant a new bus shelter and
landing pad. Upon request, PSTA can provide the ridership data for each bus stop location
and the scoring will be based on 25 or more riders a day will achieve the 20 points.

Low Income/Minority Area (10 points)
For PSTA to ensure compliance with the Title VI Federal Program and equitable distribution
of shelters to minority and low income communities, PSTA is allowing for up to 10 points for
bus stop locations which are in a low income Census Tract. Upon request, PSTA can provide
the low income and minority Census Tract information to applicants and the scoring will be
based on 10 points will be achieve for those Census Tracts with the highest percentage of
low income and minority populations.

Source and Level of Matching Funds (50 points)
PSTA will consider participating in any capital improvement project that improves
walkability, transit access and transit use. Cities will need to demonstrate the total value of
their project, the elements which are transit supportive and the elements requested to be
provided by or funded by PSTA.
PSTA has a current bus stop shelter program which involves the installation or new shelters
and replacement of shelters which have exceeded their useful life. As a result, some
shelters may be programmed for replacement and installation in various communities.
Upon request, PSTA can verify if shelters requested by cities are already scheduled
for replacement.
As the program will allow for communities to tailor and upgrade shelters, once eligible,
cities can be provided with the cost of a basic shelter that PSTA would purchase and the
matching funds from the applicant can be directed for the costs of the upgraded shelter.
The matching fund source must be identified as due to Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
any federal funds would not be eligible for matching fund consideration.
PSTA AMENITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION • Page | 2

Local Plans Supporting Transit Expansion (20 Points)
In order to ensure that shelters will be targeted in areas which are transit friendly, evidence
from supporting documents such as the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Long
Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), the PSTA Transit Development Plan (TDP) and any other
local plan which identifies existing and future transit corridors will be assessed and awarded
the maximum point consideration. Some of the plans which can be used to demonstrate
the need for transit shelters could be drawn from the following list, although this is not
exhaustive, many other plans can be considered at the request of the applicant:









MPO Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP)
PSTA Transit Development Plan (TDP)
PSTA Alternative Analysis (AA)
PSTA 2040 Bus Study (underway)
Pinellas Planning Commission Countywide Land Use Plan
TBARTA Master Plan
Local Multimodal Transportation Plans
Local Land Use Plans
Local Zoning Regulations
All applicants must submit a complete application packet, including original signed forms
where indicated, for final program approval. PSTA reserves the right to request additional
information or clarification of information provided in this application.
Application Submission:
Applicants may submit application packets via:



U.S. Mail
John Villeneuve, Planning Manager
3201 Scherer Drive
St. Petersburg, FL 33716
Email: JVilleneuve@psta.net
Fax: (727) 556-6510
For additional information, please contact John Villeneuve at (727) 540-1804 between the
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
PSTA AMENITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION • Page | 3
PSTA AMENITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION
Applicant Details (to be provided for each project):
Name
Title
Address
City
Zip Code
Phone #
Email
Signature
Project Location:
Please attach your project proposal. Be sure to include details relevant to the four
scoring criteria:




Ridership and Bus Stop Location
Low Income/Minority Area
Source and Level of Matching Funds
Local Plans Supporting Transit Expansion
Application Submission:
Applicants may submit application packets via:



U.S. Mail
John Villeneuve, Planning Manager
3201 Scherer Drive
St. Petersburg, FL 33716
Email: JVilleneuve@psta.net
Fax: (727) 556-6510
Please note: Funding is limited, and applications will be considered on a first come, first served
basis. For additional information, please contact John Villeneuve at (727) 540-1804 between
the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
PSTA AMENITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION • Page | 4