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The streetcar carries on a historic tradition dating back to 1892,
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What’s happened in those 10 years? We’ve carried more than 4 million passengers to and from the Tampa Convention Center, the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the Tampa Bay History Center, the Channelside Shops and The Florida Aquarium and the many destinations in Ybor City.
The streetcar has become a symbol for Tampa,
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The streetcar also has been an influential factor in the decision to build numerous projects in the Channel District,
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But let’s take a look at the some of the criticisms of the streetcar,
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The streetcar is poorly run,
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So, what about the business side of the operation?
The streetcar earns more than 40 percent of its operating expenses through revenues collected at the fare box. In the transit industry the "fare box recovery rate" is the measuring stick to determine whether a transit operation is being run well. Nationally,
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How Much Are The Free Hot Punch, and New York City, with its dense population of residents and workers, boasts a recovery rate of 32 percent. Based on this measurement,
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It is true that the streetcar does not pay for itself. But as you can see from the numbers quoted above,
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The single biggest factor in the streetcar’s current financial condition and the eventual depletion of the endowment fund is the high cost of liability insurance, which is required to cross the CSX railroad tracks in Ybor City. The required coverage amount is $100 million, and the annual premium is approximately $400,000. This represents more than 25 percent of the annual streetcar budget.
We are aware that the number of passengers riding the streetcar has declined since 2009. This decline coincides with the national downturn of the economy and a reduction in the frequency of streetcar service, which the streetcar board was forced to implement to balance the budget. But we also know that other factors could play a role in this decline, and, with the volunteer assistance of the Hillsborough Community College Ybor City Campus, we are conducting a survey that will help us identify other possible reasons for the decline and to identify opportunities to attract new riders.
This decline in riders has led to the criticism that we do not have an effective marketing plan. Given limited funding to operate the streetcar, we have had minimal resources with which to support a marketing effort. As you can imagine, any significant expenditure in marketing would result in further reductions in service,
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No doubt, with additional funding,
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The real question is: Where do we go from here? Should we improve service and make the streetcar more useful to a greater number of people? Yes, absolutely. We should increase frequency of service, expand hours of operation and,
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The people of Tampa have invested in a first class,
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