When they launch the boats, tourists certainly will ride.
But the operators of the Gulf Islands Ferry to AMI also want to see locals, especially commuters, among the passengers.
They emphasize the transit value of a service that boasts obvious tourist appeal.
“Fun.”
“Fast.”
“Reliable.”
Such service is what passengers on Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry — the long-pursued water taxi service between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island — can expect, according to Trish Rodriguez, an owner of Gulf Coast Water Taxi.
The Clearwater company will operate the ferry.
Rodriguez on June 27 attended “Don’t Miss the Boat,” an event hosted by the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at the Manatee Performing Arts Center to share promotional opportunities on the ferries.
At the downtown Bradenton venue, people mostly mingled, sipped margaritas served by Anna Maria Oyster Bar and collected materials about the Gulf Islands Ferry.
That same afternoon, motorists traveling to and from Anna Maria Island on Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road were slowed due to heavy beach traffic and a lane closure on the Anna Maria Island Bridge. The traffic and roadwork delayed Manatee County Area Transit’s buses on Manatee Avenue for more than 30 minutes.
The ferry would have been operating on schedule, according to Rodriguez.
“We leave on time and get there on time,” she said.
The ferry service, funded with county tourist tax dollars, is expected to launch later this summer, perhaps before Labor Day, with initial stops on the Bradenton riverfront and the City Pier in Anna Maria and then also the Historic Bridge Street Pier and Coquina Beach Bayside in Bradenton Beach.
The one-way trip is expected to take 35 minutes.
Rodriguez said Gulf Coast Water Taxi could take possession of the boats early this month but crews and captains still need to be hired and there will be training sessions and sea trials.
Additionally, the process of inking interlocal agreements between the county and participating cities needs to be completed and any improvements and adjustments to docking areas need to be finished.
Other details to attend, include launching a website and selling ads, which was part of the reason for the “Don’t Miss the Boat” event.
Through July, annual rates for ads are $800-$500 per boat, depending on location, and monthly special advertising will run $200-$400.
The ferry, at the start, will operate 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, with an adult one-way fare at $8, lower rates for people 55 and older and 12 and under and plans to offer a special rate to island workers.
In the cashless system, people purchase tickets via an app or on the ferry’s website.
Tourist development tax dollars will support the service in the first year and paid for the construction of the two 49-passenger ferries.