Could Cross Bay Ferry return? PSTA moving ahead with $5M plan

PSTA approves federal grant for Cross Bay Ferry

On Wednesday, the PSTA took the first step to restoring the Cross Bay Ferry, which came to an end last month, by voting unanimously to accept a $5M federal grant. FOX 13?s Kailey Tracy reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Several weeks after the Cross Bay Ferry made its final trip between Tampa and St. Petersburg, transit leaders in Pinellas County voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with a plan to bring the popular commuter service back.

Ferry service ends early

The backstory:

The Cross Bay Ferry gained popularity as a way to travel across Tampa Bay, with a record of more than 72,000 riders using the ferry last year.

Pictured: Cross Bay Ferry.

Local leaders, however, objected to a plan by HMS, which operated the ferry dating back to 2017, to swap out its ferry for a slower one that would increase the time of each trip from 50 minutes to two hours.

Hillsborough County commissioners voided the contract with the ferry making its last trip in late April.

PREVIOUS: Cross Bay Ferry to end early over contract issues

What will it take to bring the ferry back?

By the numbers:

Wednesday, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) approved accepting a $4.8 million Federal Transit Administration grant from Hillsborough County. This is contingent upon if the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) approves the grant transfer next Monday.

"The same day that the ferry ended, I got a phone call from the CEO of HART saying that his board had asked for PSTA to take an action, that their board would like to see that PSTA would receive this grant if they are willing to transfer it," PSTA CEO Brad Miller said.

Pictured: Cross Bay Ferry.

Dig deeper:

The FTA gave HART the grant in 2021. It can only be used to buy ferry boats. HART was going to expand the ferry to MacDill Airforce Base in 2021, and applied for the grant. In 2023, the county decided against the plan and the grant has sat unused since.

According to HART, no funds from the grant have been spent or committed. There’s no financial impact to HART with the grant transfer. PSTA plans to use the grant money to buy up to two new or used ferry boats and lease them to a contract operator and run the boats year-round. This is instead of relying on the vendor for the actual boats, like the last cross bay ferry service.

"This is a really good deal and it would be a mistake not to take advantage of it," Jason Mathis, the CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, said during public comments.

"You guys are going to actually increase the culture of St. Petersburg and Tampa and going back and forth between each other," Captain Christian Obenshain, the owner of Pier Dolphin Cruises in St. Pete, said. "I have a group of friends that are boaters and I don't think any of them have ever driven to a Lightning game in the last five to ten years. The traffic's becoming horrible, the parking's becoming horrible and this is a great solution," he said.

If the grant is not spent, it would go back to the federal government and, eventually, to another region.

"If we could take advantage of this federal grant and purchase the boats, that would reduce the costs," Miller explained. "The goal would be to increase ridership and lower subsidies."

PSTA would only be an oversight agency. It wouldn’t pay for subsidies or other fees. That falls to St. Pete and Tampa. The original funding agreement brought to the board Wednesday, though, said the interlocal agreement between the two cities was only one year.

Some board members voiced their concerns about what happens after that year and asked if PSTA will get stuck with the bill.

"I'm certainly not going to stand in the way of St. Pete and the city of Tampa wanting to fund this service," Pinellas Commissioner Brian Scott said. "I think it's great if they if they want to do that, but it would be very, very difficult to justify to anybody that lives outside of downtown St. Petersburg that that this is a good use of their of their tax dollars," he said.

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch sent a letter voicing his support for the plan. St. Pete City Council Member Gina Driscoll also said the city has budgeted more than $300,000 in its fiscal year 2026 budget specifically for the ferry service.

"The city of St. Petersburg and I believe the city of Tampa are very committed to this," she said.

"We have our partners who operate the ferries that we have in place right now. These are local businesses and our partnerships with them and the opportunity that we're giving them to with us is helping and put food on their table. It's helping our local economy. This is the best way forward in so many ways, and I'm very supportive of this," Driscoll said.

"Giving residents and visitors safe and reliable transportation choices is good for everyone," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement. "This vote is a crucial step in establishing a year-round ferry service between Tampa and St. Petersburg, which could serve as a catalyst for commuter service in the years ahead. Whether it's through PTSA or HART, we must make sure that this federal grant stays here to benefit our region."

"With us having this conversation and showing your consideration for wanting to become that multi-mobile region that would definitely take our cities to the next level and provide that go-to place for our tourists, which is something that I think that we've always strived to actually do, to bring people here, to bring those dollars, to accompany the other options that we have to offer for entertainment," Chairperson Deborah Figgs-Sanders, a St. Pete City Council Member, said.

Scott made a motion that was ultimately approved.

"I'd make a motion to approve the grant transfer of 4.8 million, a grant from HART to PSTA, contingent on the execution of a five-year agreement with the city of St. Petersburg and Tampa, to fund any costs not covered by fares," Scott said.

Miller said if Pinellas County doesn't receive the grant money, it will move ahead with issuing a request for a ferry service contractor, but it would require the contractor to provide the boat.

PSTA leaders said they’re optimistic.

"One of the things they requested was that they [HART] wanted to see strong support from PSTA," Darden Rice, the chief planning and community affairs officer for PTSA, said. "We just demonstrated that today. So, we are looking forward to going to their next board meeting, and answering any more questions there could possibly be, but I think that our actions today, I feel very cautiously optimistic that this is going forward, and I think HART’s going to be very pleased with the response from PSTA today."

HART will vote at its meeting next Monday. If all goes according to plan, Rice said the ferry could be back by fall of 2026.

The Source: This story was written with information from a PSTA meeting on May 28, 2025, and previous FOX 13 News reports.

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