In a recent filing with the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Blue & Gold Fleet announced its intention to cease operating the contract ferry service between Alameda, Oakland, and San Francisco by January 31, 2003. Blue & Gold and the City of Alameda are in talks to extend the contract, but apparently, the company is not happy with the proposed terms of a contract they have had since 1993.
Published: October, 2002
In a recent filing with the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Blue & Gold Fleet announced its intention to cease operating the contract ferry service between Alameda, Oakland, and San Francisco by January 31, 2003. Blue & Gold and the City of Alameda are in talks to extend the contract, but apparently, the company is not happy with the proposed terms of a contract they have had since 1993.
Sources indicate that Blue & Gold is looking for a cost plus contract that will shield the company from fuel and labor increases as well as a drop in revenues from lower than expected ridership. It is not clear whether Blue & Gold is using this filing as a negotiating tactic or if it is seriously disillusioned with managing the service.
Blue & Gold purchased the large Red & White Fleet operations in 1998 and has debt service issues, aggravated by the drop in tourism and lower ferry ridership. Adding to their woes, a small portion of the Red & White Fleet was preserved by the California Attorney General to maintain competition for unregulated tour boats on the Bay.
Options for the city appear fairly limited. They are reportedly requiring any potential bidder to have five years of ferry service experience, narrowing the potential bidders to almost none. Harbor Bay Maritime, Inc. can bid, but has been running its Alameda service with just one boat, resulting in service cancellations when the boat fails. A second vessel, purchased when former Alameda Mayor Withrow was trying to attract UCSF to Harbor Bay, proved inauspicious and has never worked properly but is now being rebuilt for backup service by the city.
Interestingly enough, this vessel, which ferry advocates urged the former mayor not to buy, was a one-of-a-kind vessel with a flawed hull design. Some have speculated it perhaps died a mechanical death of embarrassment, as the worst named vessel in the history of California (the Harbor Bay Express II Alameda). However, the arrival of this backup vessel would give Harbor Bay Maritime the ability to operate both services.
Blue & Gold has also attracted the ire of some riders, as the Alameda Commuter’s Club protested a rate increase before the PUC. Blue & Gold took the unprecedented step of withdrawing its rate increase in the face of the protest. So between problems with the city and problems with its own ridership, Blue & Gold appears a reluctant suitor and it remains to be seen who will operate the Alameda Oakland Ferry Service. Whatever happens, the service cuts for this troubled ferry continue, as the 7:40 AM from Oakland and the 7:50 AM weekday runs from Alameda will be eliminated effective September 30th this year.
