After abruptly shuttering last year, a ferry service will soon return to Tampa Bay. And this time, it’ll run seven days a week.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority unanimously approved a plan Wednesday to buy and renovate two ferries using a $4.8 million federal grant. The revamped service will be operated by Hubbard’s Marina, a longtime Madeira Beach business.
The vote marks another step forward for the return of the ferry, which shut down last year amid regional drama.
“This ferry service is shaping up to be a win-win for everyone, on both sides of the Bay,” said Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak, who also serves on the board of Hillsborough’s Transportation Planning Organization, in a news release Monday. “We’ll be taking cars off the road, opening up new transportation options for locals and tourists, and activating two great cities in really exciting ways.”
Pinellas County’s transit authority has long wanted to buy its own boat and expand the ferry service.
Its Hillsborough counterpart in 2021 was awarded a nearly $5 million federal grant for that purpose, but it sat on the money for years. In June, it agreed to transfer the grant to the Pinellas transit authority.
Late last year, the Pinellas transit authority’s board approved the $2.5 million purchase of a used vessel in San Francisco. Hubbard’s Marina has identified two other used vessels in Washington and Louisiana. The transit authority will pick one to buy and renovate.
“We’re committed to creating this service the right way, so it’s sustainable for the long term,” said Brad Miller, chief executive of the Pinellas County authority, in the Monday news release. “That’s why everyone should be impressed by the effort of the Hubbard’s Marina team, working with our staff, to maximize taxpayer dollars and get two boats with this one federal grant.”
The transit authority said it is targeting $10 one-way tickets for the two new ferries, down from $12 on the former Cross-Bay Ferry. The service will run seven days per week, compared with five in previous years.
The timeline is not yet clear. Alvin Burns, procurement director for the transit authority, said during a presentation in December that service could begin in mid-2026.
On the Tampa side of the bay, the boats will dock at the east end of the downtown convention center.
The location of a St. Petersburg dock has not yet been announced, though council members in November approved more than $336,700 for plans to build a permanent dock on the St. Pete Pier near the St. Petersburg Museum of History and the Dolphin Parking Lot.
St. Petersburg council members also voted to commit $350,000 per year for five years toward the ferry. Tampa’s council voted unanimously to contribute the same amount of money.
