I rode Tampa’s historic streetcar the other day. And it was …
Sad.
It wasn’t sad just because only a few silver-haired tourists and I rumbled along the 2.7-mile stretch between the southern edge of downtown east and north to the Latin Quarter of Ybor City. Yep, just us — even though it was a sunny workday, when downtowners pour out of tall buildings in droves to lunch at a bevy of restaurants.
Except they get in their cars and drive to them, or walk if they’re close enough.
And it wasn’t sad just because the route that skirts past the Channelside shops and the Florida Aquarium makes little sense for getting most people where they need to be, save for a touristy trip to Ybor City.
It wasn’t even the $2.50 single-ride fare — which means $5 to get there and back, or $20 for a family of four — too pricey to take it on a regular basis. As Mayor Bob Buckhorn put it when we talked trolley, who’s going to spend $5 for a $6 Cuban?