Plans for a year-round Tampa Bay Ferry with a known local commodity operating two vessels at roughly half the cost of the previous company are full steam ahead.
St. Petersburg City Council members enthusiastically and unanimously agreed to a funding agreement for the new service Thursday afternoon. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, now overseeing the initiative, selected Hubbard’s Marina to operate the much-anticipated Tampa Bay Ferry in September.
Tampa and St. Petersburg will each pay up to $350,000 annually for the service and receive a percentage of revenues. The design phase for a permanent ferry dock at the St. Pete Pier is also anchors aweigh, and Councilmember Brandi Gabbard noted that “all of the pieces are finally starting to come together.”
“Anybody who doubted us – it’s going to be their loss,” Gabbard said. “Because we are going to make sure that this happens, and that this is successful. And I’m so glad that we persevered.”
Tampa City Council members approved their end of a new interlocal agreement Thursday morning. Evan Mory, transportation and parking management director for St. Petersburg, said the two cities “have a four times better financial proposition in front of us today compared to when the service first started.”
The Cross Bay Ferry began offering seasonal waterborne transportation between downtown Tampa and St. Pete in 2016. Four local governments, including Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, each paid $350,000.
Boston-based HMS Ferries, which operated the most successful previous service, kept all ticket, advertising and concession revenues. Hubbard’s Marina, a family-owned company synonymous with local waterborne activities since 1928, will split those proceeds evenly with the two cities.
Stakeholders plan to lower ticket prices from $12 to $10, increase ridership by 20-25% and generate $800,000 in annual revenue. Mory noted that PSTA overseeing the ferry also “brings a lot of advantages.”
In June, the agency secured a $4.8 million federal grant to purchase a new high-speed vessel, or two. The ferry will also boost ridership data the Federal Transit Administration uses to award grants, which can help fund maintenance and capital improvement costs.
PSTA CEO Brad Miller said that if all goes according to plan, Hubbard’s Marina, acting as Tampa Bay Sea Taxi, will “find two awesome vessels” in a “very short time” that are maintenance-free and cost less than the $4.8 million grant. “That is the best-case scenario.”
Miller added that the Tampa Bay Ferry could take its maiden voyage next spring. He also conceded that PSTA may need to start with one vessel.
An expanded service will have plenty of room. The city has completed a conceptual design for a permanent ferry dock near the St. Petersburg Museum of History and is now working on a detailed version.
An $850,000 grant facilitated by Congresswoman Kathy Castor is pending for the roughly $2.85 million project. McLaren Technical Services will complete architectural and engineering work needed to obtain permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Brejesh Prayman, engineering and capital improvements director, said the “floating barge-style” steel dock would offer “more stability and better longevity.” The large platform is “wide enough to have operations on both sides.”
Councilmember Gina Driscoll said the dock could potentially accommodate up to three vessels, including tall ships. She called the new plans a “way forward that really sets this ferry service up for greater success than we’ve ever seen, and it was quite successful before.”
HMS Ferries ran aground in April after filing for bankruptcy and losing its vessel. Several city council members expressed their support for and faith in Hubbard’s Marina.
The family has 24 years of ferry experience and has operated fishing charters for nearly a century. They also have an in-house marine fabrication and repair shop in Gulfport and can complete that work locally.
Tara Hubbard will oversee Tampa Bay Sea Taxi, which added the CEO of Metal Shark Boats, a major ferry vessel manufacturer, to its team. Mory noted that Hubbard’s Marina has never had a safety incident, despite bringing thousands of people on extended trips into the Gulf.
“We’ve got the right team in place,” Driscoll said.
PSTA’s Finance Committee must approve the interlocal agreement Nov. 19 before it heads to the governing board for a vote Dec. 3. Councilmember Deborah-Figgs Sanders, who chairs the board, requested a resolution that designates the North Yacht Basin as a “first-choice location” for a temporary dock.
Port St. Petersburg temporarily housed the Cross Bay, and Figgs-Sanders said locations were “a part of the major conversation” among PSTA board members. Her colleagues on the council unanimously agreed.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
