TAMPA, Fla. — Between finding parking and paying, driving downtown is a big hassle for many people, including tourists.
“We are here with our car, and we have to find a parking lot, and they have some very expensive fees," said Christian Breier.
Breier is visiting from Germany with his wife and two kids. For them, the Tampa Heat and the summer rain are a lot more intense than what they’re used to.
“It’s very hot in Tampa, and when there’s thunderstorms, it’s good to find any possible way to move very fast.”
That’s why he and the family were excited to hear about Tampa Downtown Partnerships' new Downtown Area Shared Hubs program or DASH for short.
“It sounds very good," he said.
Shaun Drinkard, the interim president for TDP, said the main goal is to move people around downtown without them having to walk, drive, or get a much more expensive ride share. DASH will run between all of the downtown neighborhoods.
Drinkard said they will start out with six Teslas. They will all be painted yellow. He said they will be big enough to fit a family of four in addition to the driver.
Like most ride shares, you will use an app to request a DASH pickup. Drinkard said it will also be much cheaper than some other transit options, but they haven’t figured out the price just yet.
“We will figure out what that is here in the next few months as we refine and plan for our launch,” he said. “But we do want to make it equitable and something that anybody downtown can reasonably use.”
All of the Teslas will be driven by “driver Ambassadors.” TDP said this will add 10 to 15 new full-time jobs, with the starting pay of $15 an hour.
The application process starts Tuesday, Aug. 1. Click here for more information.
TDP is hoping to officially launch the program in October.
