Pinellas County transportation officials plan to purchase up to two high-speed vessels, which they would then lease to a private operator for an enhanced ferry service between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
An unused $4.86 million federal grant approaching its termination date would fund the acquisition. Brad Miller, CEO of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), said owning the vessels would reduce hourly operating costs by hundreds of dollars.
The agency’s executive committee voted to accept the grant Wednesday. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) received the funding in 2021 and recently refused to transfer the money until PSTA’s governing board formally approved plans to purchase a new ferry…