The Tampa Passenger Ferry project is a Public-Private-Partnership ("PPP") initiative between Hillsborough County, HMS Ferries, Inc. and South Swell Development Group (an affiliate of UpperCross). The PPP has been established to introduce commuter, recreational and tourist passenger ferry service in Tampa Bay. South Swell Development Group is serving as the master developer of the PPP for both the land and marine improvements. This ferry service will provide faster, less expensive and higher quality commuting connections for residents of the greater Tampa Bay metropolitan region, while at the same time taking thousands of vehicle trips off of the roadways, alleviating congestion, and creating a completely new mode of travel to support the continuing growth of the area. Initial service will include a direct route from South Hillsborough County to McDill Air Force Base.
SouthSwell has been working on the project since 2012 and depending on the outcome of ongoing activities related to terminal site selection and analysis of appropriate scalability for ridership demand, ferry operations and regularly scheduled services could begin as soon as 2021.