Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetcars

How Tampa Tripled Ridership on its Streetcar

Here's a happy transit story: A $2.7-million state grant to Tampa's downtown streetcar has helped triple ridership in about six months time — evidence that free transit works.

The 2.7-mile streetcar, serving downtown and the Ybor City neighborhood, is now attracting about 1,700 riders a day. That's not a huge number, but it's a far cry from when Tampa Bay Times columnist Sue Carlton called the streetcar, "This city's most charming boondoggle driven by what appear to be lonely Maytag repairmen."

The rise in ridership stems directly from two changes: The grant allowed Hillsborough Area Regional Transit to make service free, down from a round-trip cost of $5. And the state money also created better service; trains now arrive every 15 minutes, as opposed to every 20, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The streetcar also benefits from running on mostly its own right of way — meaning it doesn't have to sit in traffic.

Carlton wrote this week how surprising it was to notice people on the trains, for a change. "People were riding — not weekend tourists, not partiers headed to a night parade, but a scattering of actual, regular, workaday-looking folk getting where they needed to go."

The story is similar in St. Petersburg, where the "Looper" downtown circulator was made free last fall thanks to a $900,000 grant, also from Florida DOT. The grant allowed Looper to improve its service so that trains run every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weeknights and until midnight on weekends. As a result, ridership is up 68 percent, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The change is costing the local transit agencies a little bit of revenue, but local officials say it is well worth it. The Tampa Streetcar generated about $526,000 annually. The Looper garnered just $12,500, barely enough to make fare collection with the effort, Eric Carlson, director for St. Petersburg's Downtown partnership told the Times.

The successful grants already have important people wondering whether they may be scalable. In 2018, Hillsborough County residents passed a 1-cent sales tax hike to fund, among other things, a major increase in transit. The projects to be funded will be decided by a citizen commission.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Are We All Living in a ‘Carspiracy’?

How does "car-brain" shape the way we think about the world — even in relatively bike-friendly countries like the U.K.?

July 26, 2024

Friday’s Headlines Share and Share Alike

Bikeshares, and e-bikes and scooters generally, are becoming more popular. That's led to more injuries, highlighting the need for better infrastructure.

July 26, 2024

What the Heck is Going on With the California E-Bike Incentive Program?

The program's launch has been delayed for two years, and currently "there is no specific timeline" for it. Plus the administrator, Pedal Ahead, is getting dragged, but details are vague.

July 26, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: Have Cities Run Out of Land?

Chris Redfearn of USC and Anthony Orlando of Cal Poly Pomona on why "pro-business" Texas housing markets are catching up to "pro-regulation" California and what it might mean for future city growth.

July 25, 2024

The Paris Plan for Olympic Traffic? Build More Bike Lanes

A push to make Paris fully bikable for the Olympics is already paying dividends long before the opening ceremonies.

July 25, 2024
See all posts