Tampa Bay Ferry signals new era for regional transit

Key points:

• • Leaders cast the Tampa Bay Ferry as a permanent, transit-led system rather than a one-off pilot, with the PSTA partnership aligning the funding, planning, and accountability the old model lacked.
• • PSTA’s Brad Miller ties the route to economic vitality — premium transit corridors that draw investment, and cross-bay traffic that lifts local dining, tourism, and business.
• • Hubbard’s Ferry is staffing the service with local mariners and vendors as it nears its centennial, framing the route as regional infrastructure, not a single line.

July 2026 — Tara Hubbard sees the revived Tampa Bay Ferry as proof that the region can finally treat its waterways as public transit infrastructure. Hubbard’s Ferry is preparing to operate the permanent St. Petersburg-to-Tampa service under the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, moving the route beyond a seasonal pilot through public funding, regional planning, and a two-vessel fleet.

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“It marks a shift in how Tampa Bay approaches waterborne mobility,” Hubbard said in an interview with Invest: Tampa Bay. For a congested, waterfront economy, that shift outweighs any single vessel.

A shift, not a pilot

Hubbard’s claim rests on who now stands behind the service. 

After the former Cross Bay Ferry service ended in 2025 amid contract issues with the prior operator, PSTA stepped in as the public backer.

“We have experienced false starts in the past,” Hubbard said, describing earlier attempts where a private operator had to negotiate city by city against requirements that did not fit transit. A transit authority removes that friction, and helps align funding, planning, and accountability under one roof, which Hubbard argues is the only way waterborne service scales.

That model now has fresh hardware behind it. PSTA recently finalized the purchase of two vessels, the Bay Breeze and Clipper, using a $4.86 million federal grant — after first winning approval to buy the Bay Breeze for $1.6 million. A two-boat fleet keeps the route running when one vessel needs maintenance, a reliability margin the single-boat pilot never had.

The vessel purchases give the service a funded foundation. The larger point, Hubbard said, is the system they enable.

That public-private structure reflects the broader regional collaboration Hubbard says is taking shape across Pinellas County. “Rising tides lift all boats” is how Hubbard describes the posture across Pinellas County’s governments, chambers, and economic development groups. Hubbard credits PSTA CEO Brad Miller for moving the concept from idea to procurement in months.

Transit as economic engine

In an interview with Invest: Tampa Bay, Miller frames transportation opportunities in plain economic terms. “Our long-term goal is to be deeply embedded in the community and to demonstrate how quality transportation directly supports the economic vitality of the entire Tampa Bay region,” Miller said, pointing to premium services like the SunRunner and Spark lines, which can draw transit-oriented development and investment along their corridors.

Miller expects cross-bay trips for dining, entertainment, and tourism to push spending toward local businesses on both shores. He wants PSTA recognized as a core part of the region’s competitiveness. The agency, now in its 40th year, spent the year reinforcing that case — expanding the Clearwater Ferry service, redesigning its bus network, and converting roughly one-third of its fleet to electric buses that it says cut more than $500,000 in diesel costs in year one.

Built with local hands

For Hubbard, impact also means payroll. Hubbard’s Ferry, nearing its centennial, surpassed 100 team members this year. “Our intent is to build locally,” Hubbard said, contrasting her plan to hire local mariners, customer-service staff, and operations crews with the prior operator, which imported much of its workforce. Local teams, Hubbard argued, build the institutional knowledge that keeps a service reliable.

Hubbard fields steady messages from residents and vendors who want in, and she plans to stock the boats with local coffee, baked goods, and beverages.

What the region watches next

Leaders agree the cross-bay link serves as a starting point. Both Hubbard and Miller talk in terms of a network rather than a single line, and Hubbard says communities like South Tampa have already pressed for connections. The aim, Hubbard said, is to grow the fleet and pursue competitive federal grants that fund expansion.

Executives should watch whether PSTA converts that demand into added routes, whether fares — expected to start near $10 — sustain ridership, and whether the operators move toward the greener fleet Hubbard wants once the service proves itself.

Want more? Read the Invest: Tampa Bay report.