The Cross-Bay Ferry has returned for its third year and will run through Thursday, April 30, 2020, sailing between the Tampa Convention Center and St. Petersburg’s Vinoy Yacht Basin.
“It’s going to be another strong season for the Cross-Bay Ferry,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. “I want to thank our regional partners for agreeing to bring the ferry back to Tampa Bay.”
This year, the ferry will run Wednesday through Sunday and have increased services on the weekends, with four stacked departures at both locations on Fridays and Saturdays and earlier service on Sundays, now beginning at 11 a.m. There will be additional service on New Year’s Day and no service on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Saturday, January 25, 2020 (Gasparilla).
“Tampa is committed to creating a true, multimodal transportation system,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “I view water transportation, including permanent ferry service, as a major element of creating such [a] true mobility system that our region can grow on. It’s why we wanted to locate the ferry terminal in the heart of our downtown.”
Also new this year, the Cross-Bay Ferry has expanded its partnership with the Tampa Bay Lightning and will run for every Lightning game, including Mondays and Tuesdays, when the ferry isn’t scheduled to run.
Additionally, it will not depart from Tampa until 30 minutes after the game has ended, giving riders time to board. It will also run an altered schedule for Sunday, December 29 and Sunday, March 8, 2020 to accommodate earlier Lightning game times, with an additional dead-end run departing Tampa after the game.
Tickets cost $8 for adults; $5 for seniors 65 and up, active and retired military and college students; $3 for youth ages 5 to 18; and free for children 4 and under. They are available for purchase on www.TheCrossBayFerry.com or at the ferry’s dockside ticket booths; reservations are highly encouraged.
“As a county-wide county commissioner, I know there is a broad base of enthusiastic support for ferry transportation,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp. “My expectation is that this third year of temporary, seasonal service will provide the impetus to finally start permanent ferry service.”
The Cross-Bay Ferry is a collaboration between St. Petersburg, Tampa, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and the Florida Department of Transportation.
Those interested in learning more about the ferry can visit www.TheCrossBayFerry.com.
