Ready for year round Tampa Bay Ferry Service?

GREAT NEWS! We can FINALLY have a permanent ferry system soon, for less than the cost of widening 2 miles of road - IF our County Commission votes to take the next step on Wednesday, May 15th.

ACTION NEEDED: Please email the commissioners at this link, and let them know you support permanent ferry service connecting Tampa, St. Pete, South County and MacDill AFB:

https://hcflgov.formstack.com/forms/contact_commissioner

Here's the plan: HMS Ferries, the company that operates the successful Cross Bay Ferry, has offered to operate a complete ferry service for Tampa Bay without any local operating subsidies as part of its public-private partnership agreement with Hillsborough County. HMS Ferries is making a $100 million commitment to us. The system will include:

• Commuter ferries operating every 10-15 minutes out of Williams Park in South County to MAFB every weekday during peak rush hour periods.
• Daily evening and weekend service between downtown Tampa, downtown St. Petersburg and South County's Williams Park.
• Weeknight intercity service would commence after the MAFB service was over and operate between 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. At least two ferries would circulate between South County and each downtown. Additional ferries would likely operate on evenings when events are scheduled at Amalie Arena or Tropicana Field. Weekend intercity service also would connect St. Petersburg, Tampa and South County using at least two vessels operating in a counter-circular fashion, operating from late morning to late evening.

This would be the ONLY local transit project in Florida that doesn't require local taxpayer dollars to operate. It only requires funding of the public infrastructure to work. This means that Hillsborough County and other local and state governments must fund the ferries, terminals, and trams. All of this would be publicly owned. The cost is $36 million -- which is very inexpensive as compared to any other regional, congestion proof transit project or any major roadway widening.

You can learn more at PERMANENT PASSENGER FERRY SERVICE PLAN

Please send your email to the Commissioners today! And copy us on your email at tampabayferry@hotmail.com if you can.

Annotated by Mauricio Rosas

Source: CrossBay Ferry