A few weeks back, local dignitaries of every political stripe mingled about the upper deck of the Provincetown IV — the vessel that constitutes the six-month pilot for the Tampa Bay Cross Bay Ferry — and spoke glowingly about the new (old) way to get across the bay.
It was the pilot project's maiden voyage. The weather was gorgeous, the ride was smooth and the panoramas were lovely. How did we not have this boat going back and forth the whole time?
But there seemed to be a consensus on the one thing missing: beer.
Not anymore.
The ferry's operators have announced that it will now serve beer, wine and cocktails over the course of the 50-ish minute ride between downtown St. Pete and Tampa.
And though the boat had previously operated on weekends, it is now shuttling passengers seven days a week with two roundtrips per day (times vary depending on the day). Those who regularly use the ferry will ride for half price. And if said regulars miss the last ferry on their way home, according to a press release, they will be offered a gratis cab ride home on the house.
The Cross Bay Ferry pilot program launched earlier this month after years of speculation on how cool such service it would be.
Visionaries on the Hillsborough side first imagined a ferry carrying passengers from the Apollo Beach area to MacDill Air Force Base or thereabouts.
Connecting downtown St. Pete and Tampa this way makes the concept much more visible and opens it up to tourists and cross-bay commuters alike.
If it's successful, expanding service to other parts of the bay may be in the cards.
Funding for the project came in equal parts from St. Petersburg and Tampa as well as Hillsborough County. The aim is for the service to at least break even, lest low rider demand lead it to require further government subsidy.
This article appears in Nov 17-24, 2016.