By Angie Schmitt. Streetsblog USA; April 8, 2019
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.”