As Manatee County looks to grow ferry, Longboat stop discussed

The Gulf Islands Ferry is all the rage, with 39,000 hopping aboard already this year, and Manatee leaders are looking at ways to expand.

Manatee County has discussed bringing a Gulf Islands Ferry stop to Longboat Key, though those discussions are far from concrete plans. Mayor Ken Schneier said he sees benefits in bringing a stop to Longboat, mainly as a method of traffic alleviation.

“When we do our citizen surveys every year, the number one concern is always traffic. We’re always looking for solutions to that. There aren’t a lot that are obvious. There’s been talk about another bridge, but that’s not going to happen. So one of the things is the water taxi idea,” Schneier said.

Image courtesy of Manatee County

The main hangup, though, is finding a suitable location that residents would be agreeable to. 

The ferry can only stop at public piers or docks because it is a publicly funded service, said Elliot Falcione, director of Manatee County’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. 

Falcione advocated for the formation of the ferry and now runs the system while the county works to transition operations to Manatee County Area Transit in the future.

Schneier said finding a public location is easier said than done.

“Wherever we were to do that, we would have concerns of the local residents to having a dock because you don’t just need to have a dock where people get on and off the boat, but then you need ways to then transfer them wherever they want to go,” Schenier said. “So you need parking lots if there are people coming from the island who want to go downtown. You need transit for people coming to the island and want to go to a restaurant or want to go to the beach. All of that infrastructure has to be considered whenever you consider bringing a ferry here.”

Ridership has seen a 44% increase from 2024, according to county figures.

“That means we have taken about 18- to 19,000 cars off of our roads. And that’s running two 49-passenger catamarans,” said Falcione.

Falcione said the town has not signaled they want the ferry on the island, “but Manatee County stands ready.”

Schneier said the town doesn’t want to say no, but wants to work to find a solution that would work for its residents. City Island could be a possible landing spot if Sarasota were to launch a similar program, he said. A Sarasota County spokesperson and the County Commissioner who oversees the City Island portion of the county did not provide a comment on the possibility of a ferry system in Sarasota County.

“I don’t know where (Sarasota County) stand(s) on it, but if there were to be a program with Sarasota County, an obvious landing point could be Ken Thompson Park or City Island where Mote is just south, right across the bridge from us,” Schneier said. “There’s a lot of space there. You’d still have to deal with transferring people and parking, but there is space where you could do it.”

The county is spending $3 million to expand its ferry fleet. He said the addition of a 92-seat, air-conditioned ferry will be added to complement the two 48-seat pontoons currently in service.

Falcione sees the ferry system not just as a method of transportation, but as a tourist attraction.

“The visitor can enjoy the beautiful Gulf Coast shorelines, and that 40-minute commute is very enjoyable,” he said.

Image courtesy of Manatee County

As the county adds to the fleet, it’s also working to add ferry stops. Right now, the ferry goes from the Bradenton Riverwalk Pier to the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach. Repairs are being made to the Anna Maria Island City Pier to bring back the third stop of the ferry service, and Falcione said the ferry will add another stop to the Coquina Beach South Boat Ramp. The Coquina Beach location, just across the bridge from Longboat Key, is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

“Once we add that we will have a hopper system,” Falcione said.