Ferry Saga Slogs On

Controversy continues to simmer around the National Park Service’s decision to award the lucrative Alcatraz ferry contract to proudly non-union ferryboat operator Hornblower Cruises. On September 18, players on one side of the issue testified before the House Natural Resource Committee’s Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. Notably absent was Terry MacRae, Chief Executive Officer of Hornblower.

The hearing was titled Management of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. This was referring to the fact that Hornblower Cruises has also been awarded the Ellis Island / Statue of Liberty ferry contract in New York, much to the consternation of union and environmental activists. In his opening statement, Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-WV) said his committee was interested in not only the new contract at the Statue of Liberty but also…the track record of the new concessioner at other NPS sites.

Following are excerpts from testimony offered before the committee:

For the past 34 years, the Port of San Francisco has had significant property and economic interest in the Alcatraz Island ferry contract. Regrettably, the Port found itself on the sidelines as a spectator in the most recent competitive selection process conducted by the National Park Service (NPS). The solicitation request was issued in July 2004, without any discussion between NPS and the Port… Despite the reliance on Port property to launch the Alcatraz Island service, the first time the Port was shown the plans and aggressive implementation schedule was on June12, 2006, one month after the contract became final.

In June, August and September of 2006, the Port and the City…requested environmental review, prior to the commencement of operations. Despite repeated requests to comply with local and state rules and regulations, in September 2006 the NPS launched interim Alcatraz Island ferry operations from Pier 31½ under the contract without environmental reviews.

...(U)nder the contract, implementation of the plan for permanent facilities at our property at Pier 31½ was required to start in February 2007. This deadline was missed…. the refusal to perform environmental review after contract award and the unwillingness of the NPS to enforce contract deadlines has resulted in a diminished quality of service to Alcatraz Island visitors and strained relations with the City and County of San Francisco.

The Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant Association (FWRA) is compromised of twenty restaurants located on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, all of which have been affected by the relocation of the Alcatraz Ferry Service…

Approximately 1.4 million people who used to spend time on the Wharf while waiting to board the Ferry or after returning from Alcatraz no longer do so. They are now a mile away (at Pier 33, as opposed to the former departure point, which was Pier 41 ½)…. (t)his move has created a substantial environmental and economic impact on the Wharf area.

In San Francisco, operating as Alcatraz Cruises, Hornblower Yachts has a record of environmental delays with the Alcatraz ferry service…(it) is months behind schedule on installing air pollution controls on its primary diesel vessels, which were due on commencement of operations in September 2006…the boats it is using today do not meet the standards we supported in the company’s bid proposal.

If the promise of cleaner ferries gave Alcatraz Cruises a winning edge over other bidders, then the NPS had a serious obligation to thoroughly examine whether this company could deliver in a timely manner on its environmental promises.

Alcatraz Cruises also appears to be falling further and further behind on its commitment to build a new hybrid solar-and-wind powered vessel within two years of taking over the service… the proposed new Bay-Tri hybrid vessel…graced the cover of the ferry operator’s bid proposal to the NPS. A model of the vessel was displayed at the NPS and Hornblower offices in San Francisco…(t)here is no technical reason why the Bay-Tri cannot be built on schedule.

By failing to require concessionaires such as Hornblower Yachts and Alcatraz Cruises to fulfill environmental commitments as contracted, the NPS is failing in its responsibility and mission under the National Park Service Organic Act.

While Hornblower has sought fare increases from ferry riders, it has unjustly replaced a unionized workforce with nonunion workers. The Department of Labor has ruled that the ferry workers should receive the same pay and benefits as they did under the previous contractor, but Hornblower has appealed the decision.

Hornblower should focus its resources on fulfilling its contract obligations, not on replacing unionized employees and charging visitors higher fares. The National Park Service should have considered Hornblower’s performance in San Francisco before awarding the company another major contract.