TARPON SPRINGS — The Jolley Trolley will keep running its coastal route between the Sponge Docks and Clearwater Beach for at least three more years under a contract extension city commissioners approved unanimously.
The agreement with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority costs the city $63,911 a year, an amount already budgeted in the general fund for fiscal 2026. Because the previous contract lapsed Oct. 1, 2025, without being formally renewed — even though service never stopped — the new deal is retroactive to that date.
The extension runs three years, with options for two additional two-year terms. Beginning Oct. 1, 2027, annual contributions from the funding partners will rise 6.4%.
Karen Lemmons, the city’s economic development manager, said the agreement keeps Tarpon Springs in a multi-agency partnership that has supported the trolley’s north coastal route for 16 years. The seven-day fixed route links downtown Tarpon Springs and the Sponge Docks with Ozona, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach.
The city first joined the partnership in December 2010, signing on with PSTA, the Jolley Trolley, Pinellas County, Dunedin and the Clearwater Downtown Development Board. The agreement was renewed in 2016, amended twice and restated in 2022.
“We’ve had a tremendous partnership with Jolley Trolley, and it is really a good advantage for our city,” Lemmons said.
Mayor John Koulianos asked how many riders the city generates. A PSTA spokesperson said about 30% of passengers board in Tarpon Springs, either at the Sponge Docks or elsewhere in the city.
Commissioner Michael Eisner questioned why Clearwater pays less than Tarpon Springs, Dunedin and Pinellas County.
“I think the other three towns are footing the bill for Clearwater, and I believe Clearwater has a bigger budget than the three towns put together,” he said.
The PSTA spokesperson said the shares have historically been based on route mileage, and that Dunedin, unincorporated Pinellas County and Tarpon Springs each have more miles of the route than the downtown Clearwater segment funded through that city’s community redevelopment agency.
City Manager Mark LeCouris said the split reflects who wanted the service. Clearwater had little incentive to extend the route north, he said, while Tarpon Springs and Dunedin wanted the trolley to reach them.
“They don’t need their service to go upwards. We’re the ones who needed it to come to us,” LeCouris said. “That’s why we got the bigger split and contribution. It was a long negotiation — I guess it was 10 years or more.”
Eisner later said he was not questioning the trolley’s value, only whether the price is fair, and that he appreciated the explanation of a cost breakdown set before he took office.
Commissioner Panagiotis Koulias called the trolley “a great asset to our community and to Pinellas County for years.”
“We need it. We need people to come to Tarpon Springs,” he said. “We need it to get people from mid-county to visit Tarpon Springs.”
Commissioner Lori Weaver, the city’s representative to PSTA, said transit boards across the region are bracing for revenue losses tied to the property tax amendment on the November ballot. Several bus routes have been discussed for elimination, she said, and none serve Tarpon Springs.
Weaver asked whether the $63,911 could change in a future negotiation.
Darden Rice, PSTA’s chief planning and community affairs officer, said the agency buys fuel in bulk to lock in prices, leaving a small share unhedged to take advantage of any dips. The contract has no fuel price escalator, she said, and the 6.4% increase already accounts for expected swings in labor, fuel and maintenance costs.
Commissioner David Banther asked how long the ride from Tarpon Springs to Clearwater Beach takes. Rice said about an hour, at a fare of $2.25 each way.