Pinellas County transportation officials plan to purchase up to two high-speed vessels, which they would then lease to a private operator for an enhanced ferry service between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
An unused $4.86 million federal grant approaching its termination date would fund the acquisition. Brad Miller, CEO of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), said owning the vessels would reduce hourly operating costs by hundreds of dollars.
The agency’s executive committee voted to accept the grant Wednesday. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) received the funding in 2021 and recently refused to transfer the money until PSTA’s governing board formally approved plans to purchase a new ferry.
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“There is a benefit to receiving this grant so we can buy vessels for this ferry operation, in terms of saving money and lowering the municipal subsidies for this service,” Miller said. “That’s what PSTA is all about – trying to lower the cost … to make it more efficient and better.”
The seasonal Cross Bay Ferry service that provided waterborne transportation across Tampa Bay since 2016 is now dead in the water. Hillsborough County terminated its operating agreement with Boston-based HMS Ferries in April.
The Cross Bay Ferry left Port St. Petersburg for the last time May 1, during what was supposed to be its first year of continuous operation. HART asked PSTA to vote on the grant transfer the same day.
For years, area stakeholders have eagerly anticipated a more frequent service. HMS Ferries announced plans in March to replace the current catamaran-style vessel with one that cruises at about half the speed. A trip across the bay would have taken about two hours.
Miller called the Cross Bay’s vessel and its 27-knot cruising speed “unique.” He said PSTA could likely only afford one similar, new ferry, “but there are a lot of used boats out there.”
“Having two boats rather than one would, I think, create a lot more flexibility in operating more hours and the frequency,” Miller added. “One starts in Tampa and one starts in St. Pete, and they could go back and forth.”
HART initially planned to use the federal grant to purchase a new vessel and permanently expand the service with a route from MacDill Air Force Base south to a facility in Apollo Beach. Hillsborough commissioners sank the initiative in August 2023 due to its $76 million price tag. They preferred to spend over $1 billion on road improvements.
The Cross Bay Ferry’s temporary permit to dock in St. Petersburg’s North Yacht Basin, across the Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, expired in October 2023. It subsequently moved from the downtown core to Port St. Pete, which impacted ridership.
Benefits
Miller said the vessel still regularly reached capacity. “Actually, since the pandemic, there are more riders going to St. Petersburg on the ferry than going to Tampa.”
Miller explained that acquiring vessels would allow local operators, “who don’t necessarily need to have any boats,” to compete in the solicitation process for a new service. A year-round ship and crew would support a year-round ferry.
Local governments spent $450 hourly to utilize the Cross Bay’s vessel. A new service’s revenues and savings could decrease ticket costs – $12 one-way – or eliminate local subsidies.
Miller said overseeing the contract would boost local ridership data that federal officials use to award grants. That would garner additional, unencumbered transit funding.
Conversely, sending $4.86 million back to the U.S. Department of Transportation might hinder future grant requests. Miller said a selected operator would assume all liabilities and PSTA “would not put any of our budget money into this service.”
Miller pushed back against assertions that the entertainment-focused service was not a valuable piece of the area’s transit puzzle. He said a Forward Pinellas study found that just 16% of all Tampa Bay traffic is related to work trips.
PSTA’s finance committee and board must still approve the plan. HART will formally vote on the transfer June 1.
If HART reneges on the deal, PSTA will request proposals from private vendors with suitable vessels. That would increase local government subsidies.
PSTA would sell its boats if the ferry service fails. Miller said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and several area organizations support the plan.
“This ferry service is very popular,” Miller added. “It’s a positive experience – local people and people from out of town love riding it. Transferring the grant, purchasing the boats and implementing this certainly makes PSTA and HART look better than the alternative.”
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