There’s no need to search for spare change as you board the TECO Line Streetcar . That’s thanks to the Florida Department of Transportation who just gave HART a $700,000 grant to keep it free to ride for the next year.
Let’s learn some more about the history of streetcars in Tampa:
- Roll up, roll up. People started using the mode of transport back in 1892 to commute to and from West Tampa’s cigar factories.
- In 1946, streetcars stopped running after being outgrown in popularity by cars and buses.
- The Tampa & Ybor City Street Railway Society campaigned for almost 20 years to get the streetcars running again. They were victorious in 2002 when the carriages hit the road.
- The streetcar’s loop was later extended to 2.7 miles and now runs from Ybor City to Downtown Tampa.
- More than 1.2 million trips have been made so far in 2023.