The 1992 Regional Ferry Plan prepared for MTC evaluated 17 potential new ferry routes throughout the Bay Area. Of the potential new routes, four stood out as the most feasible and were recommended to receive further analysis. The 1999 San Francisco Bay Area Regional Ferry Plan Update re-evaluated three of these potential routes - the fourth (Alameda Harbor Bay Island to San Francisco) has been implemented. Once again, a ferry from Albany or Berkeley to San Francisco stood out as a route with a high potential for successful transit service.
Published: February, 2000
The Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 has long been remembered for its devastating effect on Bay Area transportation. But for a few advocates in Berkeley, the event will always be remembered for much more than destruction and chaos. They will always remember that fateful day on October 17, 1989, when the earthquake brought Berkeleyans a ferry.
The brief but successful history of the Berkeley ferry, running only for a few short months as a temporary fix around the quake-damaged Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge, reveals not only how ferry travel can save the day by providing convenient transit diversity, but also how local, grass-roots support from people in the community can be critical to the success of any ferry development effort.
Immediately after the ’89 quake, the Bay Area was desperate for alternative means of transportation. Lacking the Bay Bridge, people needed to find new ways to get around and they needed them fast.
Ferries came to the rescue literally overnight. Operating from a previously abandoned pier at the Berkeley Marina, ferries quickly began shuttling hundreds of passengers to and from Berkeley every day — passengers who normally took their cars or buses to work in San Francisco.
Yet with all the chaos at the time, many commuters still weren’t aware of the ferry’s existence. The earthquake had disrupted so many lives and getting accurate information was difficult. The solution came from the community as dozens of local citizens volunteered their time and energy to help the Berkeley ferry.
Advocacy groups sprouted up almost organically. Initiated both before and during the Loma Prieta period, such groups as the Berkeley Ferry Committee and the Friends of the Berkeley Ferry offered much needed community awareness around the whole ferry experience. Eclectic and diverse as Berkeley itself, these "rider advocacy groups" provided everything from schedule printing and distribution, to community outreach, to canvassing, to special events planning. They even helped organize on-board lectures on bay wildlife and natural history.
Perhaps more importantly, the groups also served to spread the news about the energy and enthusiasm that was happening around the ferry almost by magic.
Recalls Linda Perry, founding member of Friends of the Berkeley Ferry: "People came off that ferry with smiles on their faces. It was a joy just to watch their response. The ferry gave people much more than a form of transportation. It was a great way to socialize, relax, enjoy a cup of coffee or a drink. People really discovered the ferry, and the ferry brought people together and gave them a new sense of community."
Sadly, the Berkeley ferry was short lived. As the Bay Bridge came back online in November ’89, people slowly began returning to their old ways of commuting. Eventually, ridership on the Berkeley line dwindled from a peak of about 1,500 per day to just a few dozen. And by early spring of 1990, the last ferry boat slipped out of Berkeley Marina.
Today, the energy and enthusiasm of the "quake riders" is still alive and well among a few die-hard advocates. Encouraged by renewed efforts to restore ferry service as an answer to the region’s growing congestion problems, these ferry advocates continue to organize, reach out to local officials, and hit the streets just as they did over a decade ago.
