Tampa Bay Ferry Project Gets Hillsborough Green Light

TAMPA, FL — A ferry service between Tampa and St. Petersburg cleared its first major hurdle Wednesday when Hillsborough County Commissioners voted unanimously to back the project.

Designed to provide alternate transportation between the two major cities, the $1.4 million pilot project still needs approval from the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County. The cities were expected to vote on the measure Thursday. Pinellas County Commissioners will take up the issue next week.

If approved, the ferry could begin running between the two cities before the year is out. Each government would pay about $350,000 to get the project off the ground with daily operation between a dock near Tampa’s Convention Center and the St. Pete Yacht Basin anticipated.

HMS Ferries would run the service during a six-month pilot period, according to Hillsborough County documents.

“This is another thing we can use to showcase our community,” Commissioner Sandy Murman was quoted by the Tampa Bay Times as saying before Wednesday’s vote.

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

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HMS Ferries via the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization