Tampa — Streetcar Changes

Rail Transit Online, November 2007

The nonprofit agency which operates the TECO Line streetcar is seeking to cut costs and find new revenue sources to extend the life of an endowment which subsidizes operations.  Lower than expected ridership has drained the $5-million endowment faster than anticipated; only about $3.2 million remains and the entire fund might be exhausted by 2011.  Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc. has developed several money-saving alternatives including running two cars instead of four, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.  That change was made Oct. 1 and will save around $160,000 annually.   There will also be a search for additional station sponsors, which would raise about $600,000 a year, and a continued effort to extend the line about three blocks into downtown, which could increase patronage by local residents.  Work could start next year once an environmental study is completed and federal funding is approved.  “We're at a definite turning point," John Moors, administrator of the Tampa Convention Center, told The Tampa Tribune.   “We need to turn it from a convention center attraction to a mode of transportation to be utilized by the public.”  The five-year-old streetcar increased ridership by 50,000 in the last year and now carries 440,000 riders annually, well below the 500,000 forecast prior to construction.