As of Oct. 7, the TECO Line Streetcar System is free to ride from Ybor City to downtown Tampa — for three years. Commuters previously paid $2.50 to hop aboard the 2.7-mile streetcar service, but an $890,000 per year grant was awarded to HART by the Florida Department of Transportation to offset fare revenues.
The grant has also allowed the TECO Line Streetcar to launch longer hours of operation and more frequency, improving the way both residents and visitors get around town. Streetcar service now takes place every 15 minutes, rather than every 20, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays while providing extended hours throughout the week.
“Our customers wanted a service that fits the changing regional patterns of development and population trends, and a foundation to grow ridership,” said HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward in a statement late last week. “This ‘New Era of Transit’ will move us into a new direction and will also more fully integrate our bus and rail networks into a seamless system to better serve residents, customers, and visitors, not only today, but into the future.”
The TECO Line Streetcar has served Tampa Bay with 11 stops for nearly 16 years. This enhanced version of the transit option boosts urban mobility in Ybor and downtown Tampa, and the extensions it has planned for the future are expected to create a convenient link between downtown and other surrounding neighborhoods as well.
This article appears in Oct 4-11, 2018.