Janelle Irwin Taylor
Tickets for the Cross Bay Ferry are now on sale on the group’s website. The waterborne transit service between downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa begins Thursday.
Riders can also purchase tickets by phone at (727) 273-5932.
The six-month service from November through April is entering its second season.
Organizers lowered the price from $10 regular fares available during its pilot season in 2016-17 to $8. Kids 5-18 ride for $3. Children under 5 ride for free with a paid adult.
Discounts are available for seniors, members of the military and veterans.
“We wanted to make the ferry accessible to as many people as possible,” said Ed Turanchik, HMS Ferries spokesperson. “Despite a popular and successful first season, we knew that we could make the experience even better for riders. With a couple of exciting new features and lowered ticket prices, we think that this season is going to be something special.”
The 149-passenger ferry will dock in downtown St. Pete in the Vinoy Basin in between the St. Petersburg History Museum and the Renaissance Vinoy. The city is using a temporary dock in that site because the previous dock is unavailable due to construction on the new pier.
The boat will dock in downtown Tampa at the Florida Aquarium. It docked at the Tampa Convention Center during the pilot period.
Passengers can purchase snacks and beverages, including beer and wine, from an on-board cafe.
The Cross Bay Ferry will run Tuesday through Sunday with new, late-evening runs so people can enjoy evenings in both cities.
For example, people from Tampa can take a 5:30 p.m. run to St. Petersburg, have dinner, and take a 10 p.m. run back to Tampa. Similarly, people in St. Petersburg can take a 4 p.m. run to Tampa to see a hockey game or concert and take a 10:45 p.m. run back home.
The new schedule also features four round trips on Fridays and Saturdays.
“With these new lowered ticket prices and extended hours, the Cross Bay Ferry opens up fresh ways to get to great dining and entertaining venues instead of fighting traffic,” Turanchik said.
The cities of St. Pete and Tampa and Pinellas and Hillsborough counties funded the service. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, who spearheaded the effort to bring ferry service to the region, expects seasonal service to continue each year.
The service is not year round because it uses a boat from the northeast United States that doesn’t operate during the cold autumn and winter months.
