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Kriseman asks for two-year commitment for ferry
Mayor Rick Kriseman is asking city and county officials to commit to two years of funding for continued Cross-Bay Ferry service from downtown St. Petersburg to downtown Tampa.
Kriseman made his initial request to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners Tuesday, and will make the same request to the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners, the Tampa City Council and the St. Petersburg City Council over the next two weeks.
“We need to take action now to reserve the boat,” Kriseman told Pinellas commissioners. “A couple of years ago we did a pilot to see if the community on both sides of the bay would embrace a different way of getting across the bay other than the Howard Frankland bridge. The good news that came out of that pilot was, overwhelmingly, the public said we are interested in this mode of transportation.”
Ridership grew dramatically during the 2018-2019 seasonal service, compared to the prior season. In the pilot season, from Nov. 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017, more than 40,000 passengers used the ferry. The service took a year off. In the second season, between November 2018 through April 2019, more than 52,000 passengers rode the ferry.
Cross-Bay Ferry ridership 2018-2019 season
An agreement with HMS Ferries Inc. allows for up to two additional seasons of service with locked-in rates, Kriseman said.
The local governmental entities are being asked to commit $149,182 each for the upcoming 2019-2020 season, and $136,881 each for the 2020-2021 season. A grant from the Florida Department of Transportation will provide $145,400 for each of those seasons as well.
“In the first year of the pilot each of the partner governments was asked to put in $350,000. We’ve been able to reduce the subsidy by more than half, in addition to continuing to see increased ridership,” Kriseman said.
Commissioner Karen Seel, who chairs the Pinellas board, said she believed the commission was “favorably inclined to support” Kriseman’s request for a memorandum of understanding for two years of funding, but two commissioners raised questions about it.
Commissioner Kathleen Peters said she would like to see the service better promoted throughout Pinellas County. She cited a survey Kriseman provided that showed ferry riders were coming from their homes and not from hotels.
“Why aren’t we asking hoteliers to be promoting this? If we’re going to invest in this it should be more countywide. Vacationers and tourists aren’t using it,” Peters said.
Commissioner Dave Eggers said he wanted to explore other models.
“This to me is a perfect private model that is begging for private ownership without subsidy. It’s a great opportunity for folks. It’s an untapped market. I think that’s the way we need to be going with this,” Eggers said.
The subsidy should continue to decrease as ridership grows, Kriseman said.
There is some time pressure, Kriseman said. “We have to commit to the vessel this month in order to reserve it.”
The Pinellas commission is expected to vote on the request for a two-year funding commitment at its Aug. 20 meeting.
Danny White
August 8, 2019at9:37 am
The ferry project was initially launched to relieve workforce commuter traffic on he Howard Frankland bridge, with ancillary focus on tourist. As I recall, the ferry schedule, daily parking and passage costs, and trip length made for a very expensive way to get to work! There should be a study of how many passengers took the ferry to actually go to work vs. for leisure activity. If it is going to primarily attract workers, it has to have evident economic value. If it’s going to attract tourists, it needs to be advertised as a way to experience both sides of the Bay in a fun, economical and efficient way. There must also be focus on incorporating parking options at point of departure and ground transportation connections and point of landing. There should also be a close relationship between the ferry operators and event venues on both sides of the Bay to make it an attractive option for getting to concerts, ball games and festivals. Having a stop at MacDill AFB seems a major security risk, first, and secondly,it needs to be revisited for the practicality of stopping there at all: it’s not a public space!
Mike Manning
August 7, 2019at6:44 pm
I admit I have not yet tried the ferry, but I want to. Part of the reason for me was I didn’t know the schedule. My fault, but I agree the ferry must be better promoted.