ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Veterans in Pinellas County will be able to ride any PSTA bus for free beginning later this month, thanks to a USF St. Petersburg student’s class project which became official county policy.

What You Need To Know

  •  Free bus rides for vets begin on Nov. 10

  •  USF student and Navy Vet Steven Brown came up with the proposal, which was part of a political science class project

  • The PSTA board approved and expanded the proposal this past May

“Initially, we proposed it as a ‘disabled Veterans only,’” said Steven Brown, 28. “It was later expanded by the board to serve every single veteran in Pinellas County.”

Brown is a Navy Veteran and USF St. Petersburg senior who’s earning his degree in political science. Brown attended a class where students were tasked with identifying an issue in government that could be improved and present a solution to the relevant governing body.

The idea for free rides came to Brown when he saw veterans waiting at the Bay Pines VA bus stop.

“The bus stop was always full of veterans,” he said. “I just got to thinking, ‘Why are these guys paying for a bus pass when we can give it to them for free and kind of alleviate some of that financial burden that comes along with it?’”

Brown took his proposal for free bus rides for disabled vets to the PSTA. This past May, the board adopted and expanded the proposal to include all veterans. The program begins on Nov. 10.

“It’s going to improve the daily lives of vets. They’re going to be able to get back and forth to the doctor is the main thing,” said Brown. “Get access to housing, get access to all these community resources.”

“I’m happy that I can give back to my community and contribute,” he added. 

There’s more than 70,000 vets in Pinellas County who can take advantage of the free bus rides, according to Associate Professor of Political Science Judithanne McLauchlan. McLauchlan taught Brown’s class and said he got an A+ for the project.

“Steven obviously took this project to the next level,” she said. “Worked really hard on the research and finding out what needed to be done for veterans in Pinellas County.”

The Bay Pines Community Veterans Engagement Board was so impressed with Brown’s project, they invited him to join their group.

“I’m excited to work with these guys. I think we’ve got a lot of community leaders here. A lot of pillars,” he said. “I have a lot to learn from them and I think I’ll be an asset to the team, really.”

Brown wants to help tackle Veteran homelessness next, which was part of his initial idea behind the free bus rides, while also expanding the program.

“I’m going to try to take this all the way to the state level,” he said. “If we can get some legislations and get the entire state of Florida to get behind this, then I think we’ve saved a lot of lives.”

The free bus rides for vets, which begin in November, happens to coincide with National Veterans and Military Families Month.