- Favorite TV show: "Parks and Recreation"
- Favorite movie: "Interstellar"
- Favorite hobby(ies): Reading, hiking, and kayaking
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): PSTA’s Central Ave Trolley, because it connects two of my favorite places, downtown St Petersburg and St Pete Beach.
After obtaining a master’s degree in geography from the University of South Carolina, Bonnie Epstein joined PSTA where she has been instrumental in analyzing route performance, demographics, and statistical data to develop recommendations for a phased system redesign.
Epstein has since advanced to the position of senior planner and has developed both leadership and project management skills that she uses to advance the implementation of innovative projects at PSTA.
These projects include the first/last mile Direct Connect program with Uber that has expanded twice under her management; a late night on-demand service for low-income second- and third-shift workers in partnership with Uber; and a project with Lyft to provide same-day, on-demand paratransit service through the Federal Transit Administration's Mobility on Demand (MOD) grant program.
In the year ahead, Epstein’s analysis and presentation of data associated with these projects and their interaction with the fixed-route system will be critical as PSTA develops recommendations to improve the fixed-route system and overall service quality.
In response to strong industry interest in PSTA's innovative partnerships with Uber and Lyft, Epstein has conducted countless interviews about these projects with other agencies and for research being done by the Transit Cooperative Research Program, the Shared Use Mobility Center, and the Government Affairs Office. She also participates in FTA's MOD Innovation and Knowledge Accelerator Project and associated meetings that seek to advance transit agency innovation and inform federal policy related to partnerships with transportation network companies.
“I love getting to see a project go from an idea to being implemented, especially when the project helps people in the community.”
“I love starting new and innovative projects, but such projects do have unique challenges associated with them. My biggest challenge is getting everyone that needs to be involved with the project (both internal and external) invested in the project. It’s challenging to even make sure everyone who needs to be involved has all the necessary information, and knows their role since these projects are new to PSTA ― and sometimes the transit industry as a whole.”
“I’m very excited about our most recent phase of PSTA’s first mile/last mile program, Direct Connect. I really think this program helps riders reach our core route network more efficiently and dramatically reduce travel times.”
“Be open to new ideas; new technologies are giving riders more mobility options and public transit needs to keep up.”
“I love working in transit because we make it possible for people to get to jobs and get home to spend time with their families. Now more than ever we’re thinking about transit in different ways and using technology to provide better service that’s easier to access.”
