The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority will receive $850,000 in federal funds to build a permanent ferry dock in downtown St. Petersburg, a missing piece for year-round passenger service across Tampa Bay.

The dock is planned in front of the Vinoy Hotel. Until it is finished, PSTA will use a temporary dock off Bayshore Drive across from Straub Park North, the same spot the old Cross Bay Ferry used. Tampa already has a dock from that earlier service.

The money comes from the fiscal 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill signed by President Trump. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor sponsored the $850,000 line item. PSTA plans to mark the award Friday near the future site at 335 Second Ave. NE.

The previous Cross Bay Ferry shut down in April 2025 after contract problems and a single leased boat that could not support seven-day service. PSTA took over planning, selected Hubbard’s Marina as operator, and bought two used vessels, the Bay Breeze and Bay Clipper, with a separate $4.86 million federal grant. The Bay Breeze holds about 250 passengers. The Federal Transit Administration later awarded PSTA another $16.5 million toward a new vessel.

Officials say the new Tampa Bay Ferry will run year-round, seven days a week, with more daily trips than the old seasonal route. One-way tickets are set at $10. A public schedule has not been released. Service is expected before the end of 2026, once the first two boats are refurbished and the temporary St. Pete landing is in place.

Tampa and St. Petersburg have each agreed to contribute up to $350,000 a year and share a portion of fare revenue. PSTA has framed the dock as regional infrastructure that gives commuters and visitors another option besides I-275 and the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges.

That is the practical case. Two downtown waterfronts sit a short boat ride apart. A reliable ferry with two boats and a real dock is cheaper and faster to stand up than another study of rail across the bay. The last attempt collapsed because it ran one boat on a seasonal schedule under an out-of-state operator. This version has local control, two hulls, a fixed Tampa landing, and now dedicated money for a permanent St. Pete berth.

The $850,000 does not build the entire dock. Earlier city estimates put the St. Pete landing near $2.85 million. The federal slice closes a gap that had lingered after PSTA chose the east end of the Tampa Convention Center as the Tampa stop and started assembling the fleet this spring.

Castor’s earmark and Luna’s separate $828,000 for the hurricane-damaged Dunedin ferry pier show both parties can still deliver waterfront projects when the goal is a dock people will actually use. The test will be whether the boats run on time, the $10 fare holds, and the temporary landing does not become another multi-year placeholder.

PSTA has the vessels, the operator, the Tampa dock, and now the St. Pete funding. What remains is construction and a start date that does not slip past the year.

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