By Mary Swift-Swan

Bay Crossings welcomes Jim Swindler, the newly settled Director of Operations for Golden Gate Transportation’s Ferry Division. Jim came to the San Francisco area in late October in answer to a national search to fill the very large shoes of Dave Clark, who passed away from cancer last year. Jim left a position as the Director of Operations for Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship Authority in his home state of Massachusetts where he had worked for 14 years. Prior to his work as a Ferry Company Director, he worked in ship design, which was a career move from where it all started, in a shipyard long ago.

BC: Welcome Jim! What do you think of living in the land of earthquakes so far?
Jim: I think living in the San Francisco area is great. The weather is absolutely phenomenal. I had been getting very tired of the winters back East. The last two winters before we left were terrible, so I can tell you I have totally enjoyed the weather here. I’ve been here through one winter already and the rain is nothing. I absolutely love the City; I still haven’t gotten over it and the bridge. I’m in awe of it all.

BC: Where did you choose to live?
Jim: We chose San Rafael in the Bay Point area, although we looked in Novato. We were a little sticker shocked with the price of homes but we got beyond that. Though our house is not right on the water, it is only one house back so we can see the water from a couple of rooms. It is only 3.5 miles from the office, so it’s a short commute.

BC: You have challenges ahead of you. Is the renovation of the Golden Gate Bridge effecting operations with the ferry division and Golden Gate Transit on the whole?
Jim: The whole district, the Golden Gate District itself, has been going through somewhat of a financial crisis. They have been working for the last couple of years to try to work through that, and it has affected the ferry operation. We’ve had to look at all the divisions and try to do things more efficiently. As with any organization when you go through the good times, when everything is great, you don’t watch things as much as you could. We are at a period now where we are looking around at things and trying to do them more efficiently than we have in the past. We’ve just changed the vessel schedules.

BC: Is it possible that RM-2 will provide any relief for Golden Gate Transit expansion?
Jim: I only know some of the details for RM-2. Our bridge toll was not affected. I don’t know if funds raised will in anyway contribute to Golden Gate’s success. I’ve been talking with Steve Castleberry occasionally at WTA (Waterfront Transit Authority) to stay close to that. He is trying to help us out in looking for funding for a couple of small projects we are working on. If any of that is tied into RM-2, I don’t know. I’m trying to sort out all the different funds that help fund the transportation system out here.

BC: In Massachusetts was the system self- supporting or subsidized?
Jim: It claims to be, and it is the only one I know of, that was supported purely on fare marks revenue. There were no federal funds or state funds. It was basically a public operation run, on the finance side, like a private operation.

BC: How much did it cost to ride ferries there?
Jim: The passenger side was probably equivalent. When I left, passengers paid from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard somewhere in the $5 range, which is similar to our fare from Marin to SF. To go from Hainesport to Nantucket, at 17-mile trip, was $8, similar to SF to Vallejo. The vehicles are where it got interesting. The ferries are bigger to carry vehicles. They carry over a million vehicles a year. The business and price was seasonal. To take a vehicle to Martha’s Vineyard round-trip was $150 and to make the Hainesport to Nantucket trip with a car was well over $300. That is where it got interesting and it will be interesting to see if they can continue to operate without a subsidy. All of this was accomplished with two ferries, and one was seasonal.

BC: Southern Pacific, before the bridges, carried cars for a dollar. Times change. Do you think the ferry systems here will go back to carrying cars?
Jim: I would doubt it with the full transportation and bridge structure here. The Golden Gate Bridge is congested for a period in the morning and afternoon but otherwise still has quite a bit of capacity. I’m not sure about the other bridges, but it seems there are plenty of ways to get to the City. I don’t think folks would be too interested in bringing their vehicles in. The City has parking issues, so they’re probably not too interested in attracting more vehicles into the City. As long as we can continue to supply other forms of transportation on the ferry side, I expect the Bay will never see a vehicle-carrying ferry again.

BC: Did you sell the vessel the Golden Gate?
Jim: We are in the process of issuing an RFP (request for proposal) to sell it. We did take it out of service. It is an older vessel, and needs a lot of work. This fits into what I was talking about before on efficiency. We had six vessels. We probably need four, so having two extra vessels is a bit much. We will keep the current fleet: two high-speed vessels and three Spauldings.

BC: What do you like best about the San Francisco Bay area?
Jim: I’d have to say the weather. The beauty of it all. It is just a gorgeous area. I got here at the end of October. I went through a winter which to me was absolutely pleasant. The rain did not bother me at all. The weather the past couple of months has been absolutely gorgeous. The whole area is great. One other thing is different. Comparing the East Coast to the West Coast, at least in this area, everyone is a lot more friendly. My wife would say the same thing. Everywhere you go, even in the stores, everyone is friendly and willing to help you. The East Coast will always be my home, but people are somewhat stuffy there.

BC: What are your goals for Golden Gate Ferry Operation’s future?
Jim: Our current goal is to do more things efficiently. Better operations and better service. We are working very hard to try to increase rider-ship. The whole area has gone through tough times recently. We are seeing signs that the economy is starting to change again. Our lots (in Larkspur) are again full on the weekdays but there is quite a bit of room on weekends. We are looking at more creative ways to attract more people to ride the ferries on weekends. We are working with the Farmers’ Markets to see what we can jointly do there. There are a lot of ideas we will explore to increase rider-ship. We have a very creative and active marketing group in San Rafael that are always coming up with good ideas. We look at each and every one of them as an opportunity to provide expanded services and generate additional revenue that we otherwise we could not have generated.
Beyond that, there has always been discussion about an additional route to the Sonoma area. We have other things on our plate right now, but after we get through those that will be an exciting thing to explore. It will be very exciting to explore, whether it is feasible or not.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, the folks in the Ferry Division are ideally suited for this job. All of our people are friendly, outgoing, and very helpful by nature and habit. They really love the customers. They interact well with the customers. We have a good group in place to build on. I do like working with them. They are a very energetic group. Even though we are going through some difficult times now looking at potential cuts and possible downsizing in certain areas, they have remained upbeat through it and understand it’s a district issue, and we have to get through it. And I think, after we get through this period, there are nothing but good things in the future.