TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The return of the Cross Bay Ferry could be in the hands of a local family owned and operated business. The owners of Hubbard’s Marina said they are in the front running to get a federal grant and work with local officials to bring the service back.

Waterborne transportation is part of the history of Hubbard’s Marina.

“So my grandfather was rowing people across Pass-A-Grille from Gulfport to Pass-A-Grille. And then in the 90s, my father was working on a fast ferry from Tampa Bay to Key West,” said Captain Dylan Hubbard.

Hubbard kept it alive by ferrying people from Fort De Soto out to Shell Key and Egmont Key. Now, he said they are on the brink of something big: bringing back the Cross Bay Ferry from downtown St. Petersburg to downtown Tampa.

“It’s exciting. It’s very exciting. Waterborne transportation, something in Pinellas County that I think is a huge frontier that we could really explore and expand upon,” Hubbard said.

He said his business is one of four up for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority request for proposal (RFP). He said Hubbard’s Marina is currently the staff’s choice, but they have to wait for the final decision by the PSTA board.

Anthony Leone moved to Tampa from Dallas and said he heard about the ferry and was hoping it would come back soon.

“It would be perfect just being able to get right here, and rather than brave an hour and a half of traffic, you know, on a bad day to get over there. Just stay right here, take advantage of everything that Channelside and downtown has to offer, but then just get on the boat, go do the same thing in St. Pete and come back the same day. I mean, it would just elevate this place,” Leone said.

Hubbard said his company is best to get the job done, and they’d love to take the idea and run with it.

“You could go from downtown Tampa to downtown St. Pete to the beaches to Anna Maria to John’s Pass to Clearwater Beach. We have a vision for the future,” Hubbard said.

News Channel 8 was told the board will make a decision by October 29, and the service could return early next year. The goal is to operate 365 days from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with one or two boats transporting.