City to offer grocery shuttle from Tangerine Plaza to nearest Walmart

ST. PETERSBURG – The City of St. Petersburg will start offering free transportation from the Tangerine Plaza, where the Walmart Market closed in February, to the Central Plaza area Walmart Supercenter on Saturdays in May, June, July and August.

Starting this Saturday, May 13, the mini-shuttle bus will be able to transport up to 25 passengers from Tangerine Plaza, located at 1794 22nd St. S, to the Walmart Supercenter, at 201 34th St. N, a distance of about 2.5 miles.

For residents who may not have transportation to the nearest grocery store, the 13-week Midtown Grocery Pilot Program is free and will operate between the hours of 9:45-1:45 p.m. every Saturday starting May 13.

There will be a total of four pick-ups at Tangerine Plaza, unless there is a traffic delay, on the hour at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. The mini-shuttle will depart from the Walmart Supercenter approximately on the half hour at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. with the last departure at 1:30 p.m.

“For those facing transportation challenges, and especially for those St. Pete residents who relied on the Walmart in Tangerine Plaza, I am pleased to be able to offer this free service,” said Mayor Rick Kriseman. “Offering this service to our south St. Petersburg residents is an effort to address food insecurity while gauging demand for a future grocery store in Tangerine Plaza.”

The driver is scheduled to arrive at the Tangerine Plaza at 9:45 a.m. and wait for passengers in the parking lot area near the overhang of the former Walmart Neighborhood Store. The city plans to distribute Healthy St. Pete cloth shopping bags to grocery shuttle passengers along with a voluntary rider survey to gauge the need and usage of the free pilot transportation service.

To learn more, contact Leah McRae, Mayor’s Office/Director of Education and Community Engagement, 727-893-7174 or Leah.McRae@stpete.org.