FL: Will Tampa’s streetcar remain free to riders?

The fate of the TECO Line Streetcar fare-free service once again hangs in the balance, transit authority staff say.

Facing a critical budget shortfall and the end of yearslong grant funding, transit officials are exploring possible cuts to service and the reinstatement of fares. That’s unless Mayor Jane Castor has anything to say about it.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she said.

But transit officials are preparing for the worst-case scenario if Castor falters on her assurance. That includes possible cuts to service and the reinstatement of fares, which could range from $1 to $2.50 per ride.

Councilmember Lynn Hurtak said City Council is just waiting on a funding proposal from the mayor that would keep the streetcar free.

“The mayor has known about this for a while, so I am surprised that the administration hasn’t found a way to keep this fare-free,” Hurtak said.

Owned by the city of Tampa and operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, the iconic yellow cars have grown from a tourist novelty into a reliable public transit option for those on its 2.7-mile route connecting downtown Tampa to Ybor City.

Service has been free to riders since 2018, thanks to consistent grant funding from the Florida Department of Transportation — about $700,000 each year. Since then, ridership has exploded from just over 300,000 riders to more than 1.3 million.

“It’s really become something the locals cherish,” said Justin Willits, director of planning and scheduling at the transit authority. “They use it for entertainment purposes, but people are using it to get to their jobs. And the Water Street District in Downtown Tampa has completely grown up around this free service.”

The state grant didn’t continue into the 2025 fiscal year. But after a review earlier this year found additional expenses, the shortfall is even larger, totaling more than $2.5 million.

“We’re still waiting for the city to confirm that they’re gonna come up with the funding,” Willits said. “We have not received written or verbal confirmation that those costs would be covered.”

Adam Smith, a city spokesperson, said Castor is adamant that the fare will remain free, but there are still discussions needed before determining how the shortfall will be covered.

“The city will find the money to ensure the hugely successful Streetcar remains fare-free, but we have some questions about the budgets of HART and the Streetcar that need answers before we lock in a precise dollar amount,” he said in a statement to the Times.

David Mechanik, a member of the advisory board that oversees the streetcar, said his organization is planning as if the streetcar will have to bring back fares. But he’d prefer to see the lowest fair possible — $1 — to preserve ridership, he said.

In a presentation of possible solutions to the budget shortfall, Willits estimated 1.4 million people would use the streetcar in 2025 without fares. Imposing a fee of even $1 would cut ridership by 300,000. A fare of $2.50 per ride, plus reduced service, would diminish ridership to a third of what it was.

Even with fares, Willits said, the city will still need to give more money to the streetcar. The option that imposes a $2.50 fare and cuts service would still require $354,000 from the city.

Hillsborough transit officials will decide on a final solution in January at the earliest, staff said.

Free service helps convince skeptics to ditch their cars and try out public transit, elevating ridership numbers and making it easier to compete for federal transit grants, said Dayna Lazarus, a transit advocate. She pushed for Tampa’s first fare-free bus route, from downtown to the University of South Florida, which will launch next year.

Castor and Willits agreed reinstating fares would slow down service and cause other logistical problems. Ridership would almost certainly dip.

“Very few forms of transportation pay for themselves,” Castor said. “It’s not just for tourism anymore. It’s a viable form of transportation, and we need to ensure that that remains free for the community.”

The question of fares and ridership comes as the city embarks on an extension project years in the making. A request for bids was released over the summer to start the preliminary designs to extend service from the Whiting Street Station north to Palm Avenue in Tampa Heights.

Willits said the extension project was proposed in 2018 and ultimately shelved for lack of funding. Eliminating fares years ago was partially meant to boost ridership in an effort to make the service more attractive for funding from the Federal Transit Administration.

“To jeopardize all of that ridership growth and success at this point, before the city jumps with both feet back into pursuing federal money to extend (service), it seems counterproductive,” Willits said.

Castor said the question of fares shouldn’t affect the extension plan.

“I wouldn’t even connect the two of those,” she said.

Regardless, all parties agree that fare reinstatement would be a major blow for a city where reliable public transportation is already meager.

Free service is “important in particular to Tampa because of the utter lack of familiarity with public transit,” Lazarus said. Fares are “like a seal that has to be broken to get people comfortable stepping on a bus.”

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