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Struggling streetcars may seek fare increase

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published June 22, 2005

TAMPA - Ever since Tampa's streetcar system shut down in 1946, rail has been an alien concept for a city that's devoted billions in taxpayer dollars to roads, buses and aviation.

While rail enjoys a rebirth in cities such as Charlotte and San Diego, it struggles to advance past the fetal stage in Tampa.

The 2.4-mile streetcar system connecting Ybor City to the Channel District cost about $2.1-million more to operate than it earned during its second full year in 2004. So this evening, streetcar officials will ask passengers to bear more of the costs.

During a 5:30 p.m. hearing at Tampa City Hall, the nonprofit board that oversees the system, Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc., will vote on hiking rates by as much as 33 percent. One-way fares will go from $1.50 to $2; senior, disabled and youth fares from 75 cents to $1; one-day unlimited passes from $3 to $4; discount fares from $1.50 to $2. A 20-ride pass for those who live in the special taxing district along the rail will go from $15 to $20.

About 80 percent of the passengers use the one-day pass. An increase is expected to raise about $80,000 more a year, but that assumes no passengers will stop riding because of the new rates, which would make Tampa's streetcar among the costliest in the nation.

Portland's famed streetcar, for instance, costs only $1.30 for a one-way pass. New Orleans costs a dollar more for an all-day pass, but would be 75 cents cheaper for a single trip. Memphis is just 60 cents for one trip, and only $2.50 all day.

Of the 450,000 passengers who ride the streetcar every year, about two-thirds are tourists, said Ed Crawford, spokesman for Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, which operates the system under an agreement with the board. Tampa's system operates with the handicap of not tapping into local tax dollars, so it must rely on other sources, said Michael English, an urban planner with WilsonMiller and president of the streetcar board.

"We're cobbling together a finance system that doesn't depend on ad valorem," English said. "There isn't one rail line in the United States that pays for itself. They're usually supported by the public."

Hillsborough County's political climate forbids the use of local tax dollars on rail. These limitations make it difficult for the streetcar system, which is expected to pay for itself, to compete with roads, which are paved and widened with taxpayer dollars.

County Commissioner Brian Blair thinks it was premature to introduce a streetcar to an area with few residents.

"They should put the streetcar in mothballs until enough development is downtown to support it," Blair said.

Yet the proposed fare increases won't draw his fire, even though he thinks they might be a bit inflated.

"If the folks who ride our buses were paying for these rate increases, I'd have a problem with it," Blair said. "But most of the people who ride these streetcars are tourists. I don't think they'll mind."

Streetcar officials will look for other income sources.

City Council member John Dingfelder, who was recently appointed to the HARTline board, wants people who live along its rail line to contribute, as well.

Right now, only businesses pay an assessment of about 33 cents for each $1,000 they pay in taxable value. Officials originally decided to exempt residents in Ybor and the Channel District because they didn't want to burden poor residents with the costs.

But the demographics of the area are changing. Condominium projects and townhome renovations are luring young professionals and empty nesters to Ybor and the Channel District. Developers regularly tout the streetcar in brochures promoting projects.

"I believe property values increase the closer you get to the tracks," Dingfelder said. "So I think it's fair to ask that they pay. For a $300,000 condo, you're only talking about $100 a year."

Still, these same standards aren't applied to roads. It will cost more than $150-million to widen Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, which will allow further development along its corridor. State and local taxpayers are paying those costs, however.

Dingfelder said he expects the City Council to discuss the assessment in July.

Poor residents who remain in Ybor should expect to pay an extra $15 a year because their property values haven't increased, he said. As more residents move into housing along the tracks, the new assessment could raise as much as $1-million.

[Last modified June 22, 2005, 01:08:17]