Hillsborough leaders vote to end Cross Bay Ferry service early
Hillsborough leaders deciding Cross Bay Ferry’s fate
It appears Cross Bay Ferry service will wind down at the end of April, with Hillsborough County commissioners set to vote on the issue on Wednesday. FOX 13’s Kellie Cowan reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - The Cross Bay Ferry's fate was likely sealed on Wednesday, when Hillsborough County commissioners voted to terminate the agreement with the ferry operators due to the company defaulting on its contract.
Commissioners voted 6-0, with Commissioner Joshua Wostal absent, to end the contract. HMS Ferries, which has operated the Cross Bay Ferry since 2017, will end its service April 30, six months earlier than expected.
The backstory:
This comes after county leaders accused HMS Ferries of not holding up its end of the bargain earlier this month. In a letter to HMS Ferries, John Muller, Hillsborough County's Facilities Management and Real Estate Services director, indicated HMS planned to swap out the current ferry for a slower one that would take two hours to make each individual trip between Tampa and St. Petersburg; the ride currently takes about an hour.
PREVIOUS: Cross Bay Ferry to end early over contract issues
Officials in Tampa, Hillsborough County and St. Pete have said they're not onboard with that plan. Hillsborough County gave HMS, which has operated the Cross Bay Ferry since it launched in 2017, until April 3 to find a vessel that meets the contractual requirements, or the contract would be terminated effective April 30.
"Should HMS confirm to us either before or by April 3 that they cannot provide a vessel that complies with the contract requirements after April 30, then our intention is to recommend termination of the contract at midnight on April 30, 2025," Muller wrote.
The company's response to Muller's letter indicated it won't be able to provide a faster ferry and is willing to end the agreement several months early.
Pictured: Cross Bay Ferry.
By the numbers:
The ferry often sells out on weekends and for special events, and set a record last year with more than 72,000 riders.
What's next:
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, which was not involved in the Cross Bay Ferry, had already been determining whether it can purchase and operate a ferry on its own beginning in October. The plan remains in the works, with details still to be ironed out.
"We were approached by some of our municipal partners to try and make sure that that. Transportation option remains available to the folks here in our area visitors and residents," said Amanda Baird, a spokesperson for PSTA. "Being able to have a local crew and a local vessel would reduce the operating cost of the service."
While funding for a PSTA-operated ferry would have to be ironed out, several Hillsborough commissioners indicated they would likely not be willing to approve involvement in funding it.
"I'm really for whatever works and in this situation it just wasn't So now we have to go back," Wostal said. "Our number one complaint is roads, not ferries, and that's probably what we should be spending money on."
Pinellas Commissioners, meanwhile, voted to stop funding the Cross Bay Ferry several years ago and it's unclear whether they would be willing to reconsider if PSTA takes over with a new vessel.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kellie Cowan and Aaron Mesmer, with additional information from previous FOX 13 News reports.
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