Americaneagle.com creates revolutionary ticketing system for Cross-Bay Ferry

ST. PETERSBURG, FL--(Marketwired - December 14, 2016) - The all-new Cross-Bay Ferry, running between St. Pete and Tampa, boasts a cutting-edge ticketing system created by Transportation Technology Partners (TTP), a division of Americaneagle.com.

Ticket sales for Cross-Bay Ferry opened to the public on November 1st, when the ferry's maiden voyage, for VIPs, took place. The ferry system opened to the public on Friday, November 4th to nearly sold-out sailings. Despite limited commuter service, the ferry has served nearly 10,000 passengers with a large percentage using the mobile application to reserve specific sailings. On the first day tickets were available for sale, over 400 tickets were sold online and through the mobile app. Customers can also purchase tickets at the ticket booths equipped with Star Micronics mPOP and Elo I-Series tablet-based Point-of-Sale terminals.

The project builds upon successful systems already in place for other ferry systems around the country, including Pierce County Ferry in Tacoma, WA and Channel Cat Water Taxi in Moline, IL. In addition, HMS Ferries and Americaneagle.com will be teaming up to provide the ticketing system for customers who will be using the RiverLink Ferry between the Camden, NJ & Philadelphia, PA waterfronts in summer of 2017.

Matthew Miller, Vice President of HMS Ferries, Inc., the ferry operator for Cross-Bay Ferry, commented, "The new ferry service is addressing the issue of congestion on our roads and particularly across the bridge. Since our goal was to increase efficiency, a reliable, quick ticketing system was essential to the success of this project. We are exceptionally pleased with the work Americaneagle.com has done not only on this ticketing system, but across multiple ferry ticketing systems operated by HMS as well."

Americaneagle.com was tasked with the planning and development of all the hardware and software used with the ferry ticketing system. Americaneagle.com created the iOS and Android mobile apps for Cross-Bay Ferry as well as a customer web portal. The mobile apps and customer web portal give customers the ability to purchase tickets, make reservations, and look up the schedule. Customers can present tickets from their mobile device or printed from home for scanning when boarding the boat. Americaneagle.com also provided the app for the ticket inspector to validate tickets. The backend Central System offers HMS flexible administrative features, such as setting capacity limits for sailings, the ability to set scheduled blackout dates, manage ticket fare types and prices, view/edit all purchased tickets, view sales and usage reports, and the ability to add and track transactions.

Mike Svanascini, Americaneagle.com's President, commented, "The Cross-Bay Ferry project is another success for our Transportation Technology Partners division; we are proud to be a part of this revolutionary transportation system and look forward to continuing our relationship with HMS Ferries and embarking on new projects in the ticketing world."

The Cross-Bay Ferry service is currently a pilot project which will continue until April 2017. It took just 3 months for Americaneagle.com to complete the project and launch the ticketing system for the pilot program.

Currently, the Cross-Bay Ferry offers trips seven days a week to commuters, and customers are now able to purchase a Commuter Value Pass good for multiple rides at a discounted rate.

Customers can download Android and iOS Apple apps to buy tickets, or purchase tickets online or at the ticket booths.