Tampa and St. Petersburg residents, along with military and civilian personnel at MacDill Air Force Base, may soon have the convenience of an expanded ferry schedule.
HMS Ferries which transports thousands of a passengers on a yearly basis will work with county leaders who will need to review and approve the proposal.
The year-round service plans are expected to be in place in 2022 if all goes according to plan. The proposal, which was submitted by HMS Ferries and South Swell Development Corp, proposes the addition of four new ferries. If the proposal is approved, it will likely mean calling upon brochure printing services to help advertise the new schedule potential riders.
The vessels will depart out of Williams Park. The plans are to run routes on weekdays to and from MacDill Air Force Base. On weekday evenings and weekends, the ferries will run to St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa.
Schedule options will be plentiful as they currently plan to have departures approximately every 15 minutes running both the MacDill Air Force Base routes and the evening/weekend routes.
There will be a one-time cost to the county of $36.5 million but the increased frequency of ferry runs is expected to help boost the local economy. HMS Ferries and South Swell Development Corp will cover the expected 20-year $100 million operating costs without assistance from the public.
