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Tarpon Springs commissioners unanimously approved a three-year extension of the Jolley Trolley route through Palm Harbor and Dunedin on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

The deal with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority costs Tarpon Springs $63,911 a year for the daily route linking the Sponge Docks with Ozona, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, as first reported by Tampa Bay Beacons. The three-year agreement includes options for two additional two-year terms.

Darden Rice, PSTA's chief planning and community affairs officer, said the ride from Tarpon Springs to Clearwater Beach takes about an hour at a fare of $2.25 each way.

Retroactive deal brings a 2027 cost increase

The previous contract lapsed Oct. 1, 2025, without a formal renewal, though service never stopped. The new deal is retroactive to that date. Starting Oct. 1, 2027, annual contributions from all funding partners will rise 6.4%. Rice said the increase already accounts for expected swings in labor, fuel and maintenance costs. PSTA buys fuel in bulk to lock in prices, she said, leaving a small share unhedged.

Karen Lemmons, Tarpon Springs' economic development manager, told commissioners the agreement keeps the city in a multiagency partnership that has supported the route for 16 years. "We've had a tremendous partnership with Jolley Trolley, and it is really a good advantage for our city," Lemmons said.

Tarpon Springs accounts for nearly a third of riders

The route matters to riders and businesses along the coast. A PSTA spokesperson said about 30% of Jolley Trolley passengers board in Tarpon Springs. Funding shares among the partners have historically been based on route mileage, with Dunedin, unincorporated Pinellas County and Tarpon Springs each covering more miles than the downtown Clearwater segment.

Tarpon Springs City Manager Mark LeCouris said the cost split reflects which cities wanted the service extended north. Clearwater had little incentive to push the route farther, he said, while Tarpon Springs and Dunedin sought the connection. Tarpon Springs first joined the partnership in December 2010, alongside PSTA, the Jolley Trolley, Pinellas County, Dunedin and the Clearwater Downtown Development Board.

Amendment 3 clouds regional transit outlook

Commissioner Lori Weaver, Tarpon Springs' representative to the PSTA board, warned that Amendment 3 on the November ballot could squeeze regional transit funding. The property tax measure would expand homestead exemptions and cut the annual assessment cap on nonhomestead property from 10% to 5%. Weaver said transit boards across the region are bracing for revenue losses, and that several bus routes have been discussed for elimination. None of those routes serve Tarpon Springs. The reporting did not specify whether any routes through Palm Harbor or Dunedin are under review.

Dunedin officials have already sounded the alarm. At an Aug. 10 special budget meeting, Finance Director Les Tyler estimated Amendment 3 would cost Dunedin about $4.7 million in its first year and $7.6 million annually after that, Tampa Bay Beacons reported. Dunedin Mayor Maureen Freaney called the prospect of deeper cuts in later years "gut-wrenching" at that same meeting.

Amendment 3 needs 60% voter support to pass and would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The general election is Nov. 3.