The Cross Bay Ferry company that seasonally connects Tampa to St. Petersburg has proposed to launch a permanent service for MacDill Air Force Base. Ferry operator HMS Global Maritime and the South Swell Development Group submitted a plan to Hillsborough County as part of a public-private partnership with the county.
Tampa attorney Ed Turanchik represented ferry operator HMS Ferries, during a press conference “It will be the first in Florida that doesn’t require state or local operating subsidies,” he said. The new permanent service connecting from Williams Park in South Hillsborough County to MacDill AFB would launch in 2022.
It would also connect commuters between South Hillsborough County, MacDill, downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg.
The proposed new service includes:
• Service between MacDill and Williams Park every 10 to 15 minutes on all federal workdays. The ride is 14 minutes long. The service could help move some of the 8,000 employees at MacDill.
• Weeknight and weekend ferries connecting downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg and South Hillsborough County
• The partners behind the MacDill route have offered to pay all costs of operation, maintenance and repairs of the service, a $100 million commitment over 5 years.
The proposed service would require construction of new ferry docks at Williams Park and MacDill, a ferry ticketing area, parking for 750 cars, a tram service to the Air Force base, and a reconfiguration of the existing intersection of U.S. 41 and Riverview Road, according to the release.
Four, 149-passenger boats which will be acquired will be able to accommodate bikes and other storage. The estimated capital cost of the improvements is $15.2 million. The capital cost for the ferries and trams is $21.3 million.
Turnachik said the next step is up to the county and partners to start the environmental permit process.