TECO Line Streetcar System

The TECO Line Streetcar System is a heritage streetcar transit line in Tampa, Florida, run by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority owned by the City of Tampa and managed by Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc. It connects Downtown and Channelside to the historic Ybor City district. There is also an "In-Town" trolley-replica bus system that connects Downtown, Channelside, and Harbour Island.

The line opened on October 19, 2002. The line is 2.7 mi (4.35 km) long with 11 stations. The system is single-track with several passing sidings. The track mostly follows a reserved right-of-way at a cost of 13.7 million per mile including eight streetcars. The cars themselves costing $600,000 each. Annual insurance cost is $400,000 liability. (2012) most of that cost is the requirement by CSX Transportation for insurance to cross over their freight tracks at Fifth Avenue and also 13th street.

History

Tampa's first electric streetcars were introduced in 1892. Streetcars in Tampa reached their peak of popularity in the 1920s, with almost 24 million passengers carried in 1926. The first line shut down on August 4, 1946. The first streetcar system used the Birney Safety Car and, probably, other streetcar types.