Of which we’ve seen plenty in recent weeks. For various reasons (crashes, fires, Rays games), the normally 40-minute commute from CL’s offices in Ybor to St. Pete has morphed into a two-hour trek from hell even for those who opted for the Gandy.
On a couple of those gridlock-strangled days, this reporter was sans vehicle in St. Pete and had to get to the office for meetings. So I figured the ferry, which is in the final 10 days of the pilot project to determine its feasibility, would be the best option — and probably the funnest.
The Provincetown III has been taking passengers between Tampa and St. Pete since November. The cities of St. Pete and Tampa as well as Hillsborough and Pinellas counties all put in $350,000 apiece for the Cross-Bay Ferry pilot, and said it had to break even in order to become a permanent fixture. Yet it’s just now catching on.
On the two evenings I opted for the 5:30 ride back to St. Pete, there were Rays games at the Trop and a Flaming Lips concert at Jannus Live. Fans of each were lined up for their $5 special-offer one-way tickets (normally they’re 10 bucks), but even with the event-goers, the boat wasn’t full.
It was easy to hop on the Tampa Streetcar stop near CL Space and get off on stop number 10, a few hundred feet from where the Provincetown docks — and, incidentally, from Sail Pavilion, where there was time to get a beverage before boarding. Those looking for a serious pregame could also find adult beverages once on board.
The ride is smooth and incredibly pleasant, showing aspects of the bay that most of us don’t get to see. It drops you off in downtown St. Pete some 50 minutes later, right by the St. Pete Museum of History, an easy walk to Beach Drive or the Vinoy.
But this is Tampa Bay, where political factions incessantly squabble over taxpayer money. Critics say there hasn’t been enough of a return on investment, even though the ticket revenue has gone up each month — from $44,693 in February to $57,332 in March (in January it made just $9,909). Some say the low ticket prices mean taxpayer dollars are subsidizing riders. They also argue that the 100 or so cars that the ferry theoretically takes off the road with each trip won’t do much for the region’s notorious gridlock.
But those objections don’t take into account the economic benefit to the businesses near where the boat docks. Providing an easy way to get around is also a selling point for prospective tourists.
The Hillsborough County Commission appears poised to set aside $22 million in BP settlement money to make the ferry permanent and even add the long-talked about route between MacDill Air Force Base and southern Hillsborough County.
Yet the fate of the Cross-Bay Ferry is uncertain. If officials decide against bringing the boat back, it would seal the region’s fate as a place where thoughtful transit solutions go to die.
Perhaps, instead, officials can keep an open mind on a concept that could really take off.
This article appears in Apr 20-27, 2017.