Based at Golden Gate Ferry’s Larkspur terminal, Cynthia Amadea is the ferry line’s operations supervisor. She started with Golden Gate Ferry in 1985 as ticket agent and has been in her current position since 1994.
Cynthia Amadea has been with Golden Gate Ferry for nearly 30 years, starting as a ticket agent in 1985. She has been the operations supervisor since 1994.
By Matt Larson
Published: February, 2015
Based at Golden Gate Ferry’s Larkspur terminal, Cynthia Amadea is the ferry line’s operations supervisor. She started with Golden Gate Ferry in 1985 as ticket agent and has been in her current position since 1994. After nearly 30 years with the company, she still enjoys the job and is working diligently with her team to make Golden Gate’s ferry service even better for commuters.
As operations supervisor, she spends much of her time in the terminal overseeing personnel. Among other things, she makes sure that the vessels stay on schedule, that passenger counts are within U.S. Coast Guard regulations, and that safety requirements are being followed. Thanks to Amadea’s work, Golden Gate Ferry has recently made some major improvements, and Amadea is brainstorming for more every day.
“Over the last several years we went from a ticketing system that required ticket agents to sell hard-copy tickets to becoming completely electronic,” she said, referring to the use of Clipper cards to board the ferries. “That was a major hurdle operationally to get familiar with and implement.”
Amadea’s team has also taken a look at scheduling to identify times and places with peak demand in order to make sure that there is space for everyone. “We’ve added three additional departures in the last year or two,” said Amadea. “We’ve also added additional backup buses for our 7:50 and our 8:20 departures out of here in the morning that will reach capacity and leave people behind.”
Results from the backup buses have been quite positive. “It’s been very well received,” she said. “A lot of people like the bus because it goes directly to the Financial District—some people target the bus. Now that we have it, they seem to like it.”
The Larkspur terminal also has its share of parking overcrowding, and Amadea’s team has taken some steps to combat that as well. “Parking is a very limited resource here,” Amadea said. “We’ve looked at creative ways to increase ridership while not increasing the need for parking.” To that end, Amadea cited a new shuttle system called the Wave that’s been implemented in the past year. The Wave picks up commuters free of charge from several Marin locations, including West Marin, San Anselmo, Fairfax and—just recently—Lucas Valley and Smith Ranch Road, north of Terra Linda. “It’s become quite popular and has picked up quite a few people who would normally be driving from Novato or farther,” she said. “A lot more people are actually now willing to take the ferry.”
Amadea is both a Marin County resident and native. She was born in San Rafael and currently resides in Novato. “I’ve lived in Marin all my life,” she said with a smile. Now married with three children, she spends her free time either hiking or reading. For a good hike, she recommends Indian Valley up in the hills in Novato. “I like the topography,” she said. “I love being up in the hills with the trees and the waterfalls, it’s a very peaceful place to be.”
Similarly, she feels that the ferry is probably the most peaceful way to travel into San Francisco and throughout the whole Bay Area. “Sitting in traffic before a meeting is highly stressful,” she said. “A lot of people want to be able to use this half-hour of time to either relax or to prepare for whatever it is they’re going to be doing that day.” Amadea also enjoys the view. “It is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest rides in probably the whole United States—there’s not a lot of ferry systems in this country—so it’s not only a financially prudent way to commute, but from a psychological point of view it’s a very positive and relaxing way to do it.”
