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Ok - here are my theories as to why ridership has dropped to just a fraction of what it was, just a few weeks ago - at least on the Tampa side of the bay.
School's out ! So the college students are home. Campuses are empty. Yes, that means they have returned HERE as well, but when they're home, they have much more access to their cars - their family cars, or rides with friends.
A lot of Tampa ridership is based on visitors for conventions, seminars, trade shows. Most companies around the country try to schedule those types of events for other times of the year. Why ? because people all over the US have THEIR summer vacations going on ; a seminar or convention would mean too many key people would miss those events. So they hold off until after the kids go back to school.
Tampa is not, in and of itself, a popular SUMMER destination. We have no beaches that are gulf beaches. And the normal weather pattern for much of the summer is rain, late afternoon, heavy thunderstorms, high humidity.
Now, as hotels and restaurants in many areas get slower ( along the beaches, for example ) - those employees like waiters, hotel service people - jump into Uber driving to make up some of their reduced income. As do teachers, school service people, and even college students who are over 21 ( not wanting to be locked in to a set work schedule.) Many more drivers chasing a lot fewer passengers at any point during the daytime. TOO MANY DRIVERS.
People who visit Florida in summer are more likely to go to Orlando with the kiddies ( theme parks ) or down to Miami for the nightlife, or to go out on a cruise ship form the East Coast. Or, they make shorter side trips to see family members : Uncle Ned, Aunt Millie, Grandma, etc.
On the topic of cruise ships, many of our ships go to other ports during the summer. ( Re-positioning.) This year, we have just three ships for summer. Every ship arrival / departure means about 2300 people get on, 2300 people get off. That help restaurants, hotels, and other attractions. During fall through Spring - as many as 7 different ships call Tampa their home port. The re-positioning of ships to other ports means around 8000 to 9000 fewer people moving through the Port of Tampa for cruising, every week.
We are basically between sports seasons. Hockey is over, football is a couple of months away. Baseball is iffy at best, and obviously, over on the OTHER SIDE of the bay. College football starts up in Aug, as well as the Bucs preseason - at least it gets people ( the die-hards ) in the mindset.
All this stuff - ADDS UP !
On the positive side - the economy IS relatively strong - people ARE going out to restaurants and certain events more than ever. That's a PLUS.
School's out ! So the college students are home. Campuses are empty. Yes, that means they have returned HERE as well, but when they're home, they have much more access to their cars - their family cars, or rides with friends.
A lot of Tampa ridership is based on visitors for conventions, seminars, trade shows. Most companies around the country try to schedule those types of events for other times of the year. Why ? because people all over the US have THEIR summer vacations going on ; a seminar or convention would mean too many key people would miss those events. So they hold off until after the kids go back to school.
Tampa is not, in and of itself, a popular SUMMER destination. We have no beaches that are gulf beaches. And the normal weather pattern for much of the summer is rain, late afternoon, heavy thunderstorms, high humidity.
Now, as hotels and restaurants in many areas get slower ( along the beaches, for example ) - those employees like waiters, hotel service people - jump into Uber driving to make up some of their reduced income. As do teachers, school service people, and even college students who are over 21 ( not wanting to be locked in to a set work schedule.) Many more drivers chasing a lot fewer passengers at any point during the daytime. TOO MANY DRIVERS.
People who visit Florida in summer are more likely to go to Orlando with the kiddies ( theme parks ) or down to Miami for the nightlife, or to go out on a cruise ship form the East Coast. Or, they make shorter side trips to see family members : Uncle Ned, Aunt Millie, Grandma, etc.
On the topic of cruise ships, many of our ships go to other ports during the summer. ( Re-positioning.) This year, we have just three ships for summer. Every ship arrival / departure means about 2300 people get on, 2300 people get off. That help restaurants, hotels, and other attractions. During fall through Spring - as many as 7 different ships call Tampa their home port. The re-positioning of ships to other ports means around 8000 to 9000 fewer people moving through the Port of Tampa for cruising, every week.
We are basically between sports seasons. Hockey is over, football is a couple of months away. Baseball is iffy at best, and obviously, over on the OTHER SIDE of the bay. College football starts up in Aug, as well as the Bucs preseason - at least it gets people ( the die-hards ) in the mindset.
All this stuff - ADDS UP !
On the positive side - the economy IS relatively strong - people ARE going out to restaurants and certain events more than ever. That's a PLUS.
