Ferry Service Could Be in Tampa Bay's Future?

Tampa Bay area residents who travel between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties might be able to leave bridge traffic behind if a proposal to bring a ferry service to the area comes to fruition.

The Tampa City Council is reviewing the concept to gauge its feasibility and other local governments are doing the same. The Tampa Bay Passenger Ferry Public Private Partnership Project would float a fleet to take passengers along routes that would include stops in such areas as downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg and MacDill Air Force Base. The project’s estimated first phase cost is about $23.8 million with money coming partially from local, state and federal government funding.

Feasibility studies have been conducted in the past and a ferry service is already a part of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority’s master plan, project backers note. Some funding, about $475,000, is already available for the project, having been secured back in the mid-2000s.

While no decisions are expected out of the Tampa City Council right away or other government authorities, Bay News 9 notes that the goal is to have a ferry service up and running by the end of 2018.

For more details about the project, check out a presentation on the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization website.

What do you think? Share your opinions by commenting below.

Photo from a MPO presentation.