The great ferry experiment came to an end in April with strong data supporting its continuance in Tampa Bay. Mayor Kriseman reports that the Cross Bay Ferry’s passenger total for the month of April was 10,268. The total for the pilot project reached 40,854 passengers.

Strategic partnerships help ferry succeed in final months

In its final months, the Cross-Bay Ferry partnered with the PSTA and the Tampa Bay Rays to activate Tampa residents eager to test out the transportation option, and to see an MLB game without the hassle of the Howard Frankland Bridge.

The CFB received equal love in the City of Tampa. Ferry passengers were able to enjoy a 50% discount on Streetcar rides — the system connect Tampa’s downtown with Ybor and Channelside. Officials in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Tampa and St. Pete are all looking into funding to bring back the ferry later this year.

Cities expected to get back $30,000 

Each government put forward $350,000 to bring the project to life in November of 2016. The respective governments are expected to get back at least $30,000 each from the program. While the return is low, most officials never anticipated getting their full investment back from the pilot project.

The CFB is currently conducting a survey to gauge how the transportation program was received by riders and residents. In the interim, the project provides officials curious how something like this would fair in the area with solid numbers on anticipated ridership/revenue.

What do you think? Would you like to see the Cross-Bay Ferry continue to connect Tampa and St. Pete? Would you like it to service other areas? Let us know in a comment.