The importance of Vallejo’s location was apparent even before the city’s founding. General Mariano Vallejo, the last Mexican Governor of California, realized that the little settlement was a natural transportation hub where land meets water at the gateway to the Bay Area from the great central valley. He was so enthusiastic about the area that he offered some of his own land and even succeeded in making Vallejo the capital of the State of California, at least for one year. To General Vallejo, Vallejo was the "true center of the state."
Old Vallejo
Published: July, 2001
The importance of Vallejo’s location was apparent even before the city’s founding. General Mariano Vallejo, the last Mexican Governor of California, realized that the little settlement was a natural transportation hub where land meets water at the gateway to the Bay Area from the great central valley. He was so enthusiastic about the area that he offered some of his own land and even succeeded in making Vallejo the capital of the State of California, at least for one year. To General Vallejo, Vallejo was the "true center of the state."
The United States Navy established the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1856, with regularly scheduled connections established to Vallejo soon thereafter. A few years later, railroad barons also grasped the vision of the settlement as a center of commerce. They found that Vallejo was the closest location to San Francisco on the west side of the Sacramento River and the true "Gateway to the Bay Area." So, bBy 1869, the California Pacific Railroad established a ferry terminal in South Vallejo connecting to railroad lines leading all the way to Sacramento. Later, competition set in, and the Central Pacific developed a land-based route from Sacramento along the south shore of the river, with ferry connections to Vallejo at Crockett. The result was that direct ferry service from Vallejo to San Francisco ended by 1883 … but not for long.
Others continued to see Vallejo as a prime transportation hub, and direct ferry service to San Francisco was re-established in 1890, connecting to railroads serving Benicia, Napa Valley, and Calistoga. One firm even had a ship that could make the 26 nautical mile run to San Francisco in only two hours. In 1900, a new vessel, the General Frisbie (named for General Vallejo’s son in law), was built and put in service. In 1908, a new electric railway line connecting ferries to San Francisco with the City of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga in the Napa Valley opened for business.
During World War I, additional vessels were put in service to transport workers to the booming Mare Island Navy Yard. By 1922, these vessels were being converted to handle a new type of cargo, automobiles. The Southern Pacific Golden Gate Ferries entered the picture about that time, bought out the older steamship lines, and continued regular passenger and automobile service from Vallejo to San Francisco until 1936 1937 when the direct highway access over the new Bay Bridge bridges eliminated the need. diverted most patronage to highways. Ferry service between Vallejo and San Francisco was discontinued in 1937. This also led to the demise of electric train service between Vallejo and the Napa Valley.For a period of almost 50 years, from 1936 to 1986, Vallejo and most of the Bay Area, were without regular ferry service
A New Beginning, Sparked by Waterfront Redevelopment
(For much of the rest of our story, we are grateful to information provided by Alvaro da Silva, Director of Community Development for the City of Vallejo, and Pamela J. Belchamber, Transportation Superintendent for the city and the driving force behind the creation of Vallejo’s Baylink ferry system.)
The heyday of Vallejo’s waterfront occurred during World War II when the Mare Island Naval Shipyard was in full operation and sailors roamed the streets 24 hours per day. After the war, the waterfront sank into a decaying undeveloped area with makeshift docks, and boat repair yards, cafes, bars, and more. That scene changed dramatically with a mMassive urban renewal program in the late 1950s and early 1960s that transformed the waterfront, into a vibrant area with new boat ramps, open space and esplanades, and that focusedfocusing on a splendid new city hall and library. civic center complex.
The beautifulredeveloped new waterfront and its ferry terminal cried out for a ferry systemservice, but little happened until 1986 when Marine World/Africa USA moved to moved to a spacious new location in Vallejo from Redwood City. Suddenly, , Vallejo became a 20th Century major tourist destination, . and theA San Francisco tour boat operator, Red & White Fleet (then owned by Crowley Corporation.), put togetherbegan a ferry service to Vallejo and bus service carrying commuters to San Francisco in the morning and bringing visitors to Marine World during the midday and on weekends. Red & White Fleet purchased two new high-speed 28-knot, 400-passenger catamarans, the M/V Dolphin and the M/V Catamarin for the Vallejo run and also the firm’s Tiburon run. that would bring folks to Vallejo on a modern catamarin capable of making the trip to San Francisco in a little over one hour.
At about that same time, using state and local redevelopment funds, the City of Vallejo constructed a magnificent $1.2-million Ferry Terminal, with an adjacent $1.7 million, high-capacity float and gangway, capable offloading three hundred passengers in fewer than three minutes.
Red & White Fleet’s commute service between Vallejo and San Francisco began in September 1986. By late 1987, Red & White Fleet was making money seasonally on midday and weekend ferry runs serving Marine World, but was losing much more on the commuter runs. In March, Red & White Fleet proposed to eliminate commute-hour services between Vallejo and San Francisco, due to continuing financial losses.
In the spring, "Ferry Godmother" Cindy Detweiler and the North Bay Water Commuters (NBWC) rallied the North Bay community and saved the threatened ferry service. At a Vallejo City Council meeting in early 1988, more than 800 commuters and supporters organized by Detweiler and NBWC "stormed City Hall" to ask to Council to save and support the ferry system.
NBWC’s efforts led directly to an agreement between Red & White Fleet and the City of Vallejo that went into effect in October, 1988. Red & White Fleet agreed to continue limited commuter ferry service, as well as midday service for Marine World.
Vallejo Assumes Responsibility for Ferry Service
But, iAbout that time, several events occurred to propel the City of Vallejo into public transit.
First, with Red & White negotiating to suspend ferry service, the city put Pam Belchamber in charge of transportation planning, resulting in the city accepting responsibility for the continuation of ferry service to San Francisco.
t was apparent that Vallejo’s ferry and transit services could be substantially upgraded, particularly since Bay Area voters has recently approved "Regional Measure 1," increasing tolls on Bay Area bridges to $1.00. That toll increase provided funding not only for bridge replacement, but also operating costs for transit services that relieved congestion on the bridges. As the City of Vallejo’s Transportation Superintendent Pam Belchamber explains:
Pam Belchamber Explains
"In September 1987, the City of Vallejo began operation of ‘BartLink’ express bus service along Interstate 80 between Vallejo and the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station. A year later, we assumed responsibility for the continuance of Vallejo to San Francisco ferry service. The additional funds from the bridge toll increase went immediately into these services. We had an ideaknew that ferry service for Vallejo could be bigger than it was,services for Vallejo could be bigger than it was, much bigger than a one boat, one run per commute system. since wWe have had a growing community and a growing county. Vallejo increased in population from about 80,000 in 1980 to 109,000 people in the 1990 census. Solano County increased from 235,000 people in 1980 to more than 340,000 in 1990.
"Our confidence in the potential for ferry service was made obvious to the entire Bay Area community on October 17, 1989…"
We have a population with huge numbers that are working in the SF Financial District. In 1980, when we did our first survey, we had 5,000 people living in Vallejo who worked in the Financial District; so, we knew that we had the demographics. We also had the enthusiasm and great support from the community, the riders, and the business community. But, we didn’t have an effective regional transportation system, and did not see BART coming up I-80 and crossing the Carquinez Bridge. We also knew that traffic congestion on I-80 was only going to get worse. So, with a beautiful body of water and a waterfront waiting for ferry service, ferries appeared to be an alternative that would worked for us. And, it all came together sooner than we thought!
The Big Shake-up
At 5:04 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, 1989 … with over 62,000 fans filling Candlestick Park for the third game of the World Series, and commute traffic in full swing, suddenly it struck: the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that was later called "Loma Prieta". Fires erupted in the Marina District of San Francisco. A double-decker freeway collapsed in West Oakland. And one segment of the upper deck on the east span of the Bay Bridge collapsed onto the lower level, putting the bridge totally out of service.
The Bay Bridge was out of commission for several nearly a months as Caltrans mounted an emergency restoration program. The thousands and thousands ofMore than 80,000 commuters from East Bay cities that normally took the bridge to San Francisco had to find alternative transportation. BART played a major role in solving the transportation crisis, and Vallejo responded by dramatically increasing its newBartLink bus service along I-80 to BART’s El Cerrito Del Norte Station in El Cerrito.
The earthquake clearly showed that the alternative for trans-bay transportation was the ferry, and suddenly the importance of having high-speed ferry service on the bay became apparent to everyone. Belchamber says, "We had an ideaknew that ferry service could be bigger than it was, but until the earthquake, there was never an opportunity to demonstrate it." " So with funding from Caltrans, excursion and tour boats were pressed into emergency ferry service between Richmond, Berkeley, Alameda, and other East Bay points to get commuters to and from San Francisco.
So, with funding from Caltrans, excursion and tour boats were pressed into ferry service in Richmond, Berkeley, Alameda and other East Bay points to get commuters to and from San Francisco. In Vallejo,
Within a week after the quake, two high-speed catamaransthree boats — two 25-knot mono-hulls and one catamaran — were loaned borrowed from Washington State Ferries and put into operation between Vallejo and San Francisco. After the reopening of the Bay Bridge in mid-November, Vallejo to San Francisco ferries retained the greatest proportion of ridership of any other emergency ferry service.
By January 1990, with the Bay Bridge restored, some ferry commuters went backreturned to their automobiles. , However, but others had discovered the pleasures of "taking a ferry to work" and stayed with their new-foundnewly found transportation. Some of the new ferry services across the Bay survived,survived, and someunfortunately most did not.
In Vallejo, with Caltrans funding at an end, the twothe three ferries on loan were returned to their home in Washington State. The fAlthough the demand for ferry service had dropped somewhat after the reopening of the bridge, it still remained high, and it was obvious that Vallejo had to make a move.
Finding Funding
Other significant events occurred at about this same time. The first was the 1990 passage of State Proposition Proposition #116 in June 1990, the "California Air Quality & Transportation Improvement Act" ("CATIA"), a $2 billion measure that which included $10-million capital earmarked for the purchase of equipment for Vallejo’s ferry system.
With capital funding and operating expenses in hand, Vallejo was about to enter the transit business.
"That’s when I entered the picture!" said Pam Belchamber, a transportation analyst for the city at the time.According to Belchamber, "We As a result of the Loma Prieta quake, we moved rapidly and obtained the Metropolitan Transportation’s (MTC) approval of funding for a $240,000 study of improved ferry service from Vallejo and other locations in the Bay Area." Between November 1990 and November 1991, the "Regional and Vallejo Ferry Plan" was developed by the City of Vallejo and MTC. Also during 1991, a proposal to Congress was made for a special "earmark" of transportation funds for the Vallejo ferry system.
Vallejo hired Pacific Transit Management (PTM) to write the Vallejo Ferry Plan. The PTM team included Art Anderson Associates, a naval architectural firm whose staff included Marty Robbins, now Vallejo’s Marine Services Manager responsible for overseeing Baylink operations and the ferry capital program.
In November 1991, the Vallejo City Council approved the Vallejo Ferry Plan, which provided a clear vision of where we wanted to go with our ferry service. The program called for buying two 35-knot ferryboats, setting our own schedules, and contracting with an experienced ferry operator.
Based on that plan, the MTC committed additional federal operating funds for Vallejo’s transit system. In December 1991, President George Bush (senior) signed the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), which, through the advocacy and hard work of Congressman George Miller, included an allocation of $17 million for the "North Bay Ferry Demonstration Program," e.g., the Vallejo ferry project.
Belchamber continued, "Early in 1992, we quickly began the environmental review and funding application process with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which we finished in June and then submitted to MTC and the FTA for approval.
"But, as with many major projects, we encountered a few bumps in the road. A local group, ‘Citizens for a Natural Waterfront’ sued the City in August, insisting on a full environmental impact report (EIR) for the ferry project. The funding application process went forward despite the lawsuit." In August 1993, the environmental lawsuit was rejected by the Solano County Superior Court, but Citizens for a Natural Waterfront appealed the decision to the California State Court of Appeals, which was later rejected in mid-1994.
"Later that spring, Red & White Fleet informed us that a vessel would not be available to continue San Francisco to Vallejo service after June 1994, unless the city separately funded extensive repairs to the M/V Catamaran. After Red & White Fleet’s announcement, it made more sense to us to obtain an interim replacement/backup vessel. We also decided to place the Vallejo-San Francisco service out to competitive bid after Red & White Fleet indicated that they needed substantially higher subsidies than we had been paying.
"Based on our Request for Proposals, we purchased the "M/V Jet Cat Express" (a 28-knot catamaran) from Catalina Express of Long Beach in spring 1994. We also selected Blue & Gold Fleet to provide Vallejo’s ferry service, which began with the Jet Cat on July 1, 1994.
Launching Baylink Ferry Service
"Once the environmental and operational hurdles were cleared, Marty Robbins and Ken Fox, another consultant working for Art Anderson, proceeded to develop the specifications for the two 35-knot ferryboats. After an exhaustive bidding process in which five potential builders participated, the Vallejo City Council awarded the contract to Dakota Creek Shipyard of Anacortes, Washington, in October 1995.
The two new high-speed catamarans were designed, built, and delivered by Dakota Creek Shipyard of Anacortes, Washington. Each Boat boat is capable of carrying 301 passengers at a speed of 35-knotts34-knots, and is and was powered by two 2,720 horsepower diesel engines operating waterjets. The first vessel arrived was delivered in March, 1997, and t, and the second vessel,he second vessel arrived in Vallejo during in May, 1997.
"In late 1996, Vallejo’s City Council, in recognition of Mayor Anthony Intintoli’s unwavering support and hard work over the years to improve the ferry system, decided to name the first catamaran the M/V Intintoli." The second catamaran was named the M/V Mare Island. The two high-speed catamarans were placed into service over the Memorial Day weekend in May 1997.we have nothing
The two high-speed catamarans were put in service in May 1997, inaugurating The City of Vallejo’s BayLink Ferry Service with Blue & Gold Fleet as operator.
"We Based on our experience following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, we knew had a lot of hopethat people would come in droves and ride these boats. Our plan called for ridership to increase quickly, since city was heavily dependent on income from the fare box to meet operating expenses. So, during that first summer of operation, we held our breath and watched ridership figures very carefully. We chose the name ‘Vallejo Baylink’ "Vallejo Baylink" as a way of identifying the City, but also to convey the function purpose of the system connecting Vallejo with the Bay Area."
Another Fortuitous Event
"In September 1997, several months after Vallejo Baylink went into operation, BART went on strike. It was too bad for BART, but not too bad for Baylink!
"The resulting freeway congestion forced many automobile commuters to try public transit for the first time … including our new Baylink ferry service. When the strike was over many transit commuters went back to BART, but we found that there was a net gain for Baylink.for Baylink. With that ‘shot-in-the-arm,’ our ridership figures reached projected targets by October/November 1997, and i. It appeared , for the first time, that the new ferry service was becoming a financial successmeeting our financial objectives more than a year ahead of schedule.
"During the first full fiscal year of operation between July 1997 and June 1998, Baylink carried 545,000 passengers. In Fiscal Year (FY) 1998-1999, Baylink carried 635,000 passengers. Last year in FY 1999-2000, the ferries plus the supplemental buses (see below) carried nearly 750,000 riders. We are projecting about 800,000 passengers in the Fiscal Year ending this month, including about 40,000 bus passengers. This figure represents about 2,400-2,800 weekday passengers, including buses. Initially, some 60% of our riders were from Vallejo, and 40% came, largely by automobile, from Napa, Fairfield, and Benicia. That picture has changed dramatically as more and more people have discovered how peasant it is to ride the ferry. Now, we are getting passengers from as far away as Davis and Sacramento."
Also a Growing Bus Service
To provide an integrated transit system, the City of Vallejo also operates local bus services, as well as feeder bus service to the ferries froman intercity bus connection Vacavillefrom Vacaville and Fairfield that serves the Ferry Terminal, plus an express bus connection to the BART at the El Cerrito Del Norte Station BART station.in El Cerrito. That service, called BARTlinkBartlink, was increased following the Loma Prieta Earthquake, and continues today and includes extending extended service to for commuters from as far away as Vacaville and Fairfield and Vacaville. .
By 1990In 1997, HOV lanes were completed on along I-80 all the way from the Carquinez tobetween Highway 4 and the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza, including a direct connection to the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station. The I-80 HOV lane permits thus permitting fast, efficient bus service from Vallejo to BART as well as to San Francisco. So, during the 1997 BART strike, we temporarily shifted our bus service from taking riders to BART to taking them all the way to San Francisco. After the strike, we returned to our Del Norte BART operations, providing bus service to every train during commute hours.
As the population of Solano County’s population continues to grow and commuters find themselves moveliving farther and farther away from work, there is mounting demand for our transit services, both ferries and buses.ferry and bus service, particularly into the central Bay Area. More and more people have discovered how pleasant a ferry ride on the ferry can beis, .and our ferry service has become more and more popular.
Ms. Belchamber continued, Our two "Baylink ferries operate very close to capacity during the morning commute. Available capacity is regularly exceeded in the afternoon, particularly during the summer when regular commuters share the ferries with recreational riders. catamarans are not only operating at capacity during commute runs, but have an excess number of passengers. Fortunately, we are now able to accommodate them by using our buses to take them toreturn the ferry ‘spillover" passengers from San Francisco to Vallejo, on the same time-schedule as the ferries, thanks to the HOV lanes on I-80. A number of Baylink passengers regularly ride ferries to San Francisco in the morning, but take the bus back in the afternoon since the buses run on the hour, the ferries on the half hour." Thus, we now offer both bus or ferry service for our commute runs from Vallejo. The two services have become interchangeable.
Ferries, Now an Overwhelming Success
"Our two boats are always on the move with eleven round trips trip sailings per weekday a day tobetween Vallejo and San Francisco. We have no idle mid-day docking time, other than for crew changes. We not only have huge demand during the commute hours, but we also have a strong demand during mid-day and on weekends, particularly in the summer.
"On one end, there is the draw of San Francisco … not only for going to work, but …going to the baseball games … going shopping … going to lunch or dinner … going to the theatre … and so forth. We go directly to San Francisco. It’s a wonderful ride and everybody loves it. On the Vallejo end, we are also becoming more of a tourist destination, with Six Flags Marine World, the Mare Island Historic Park, golf courses, the ‘California Wine BoatShip,’ and before long, access to the Napa Valley wine country.
"With the high day-long and week-longheavy patronage usage of our boatsBaylink, we are bringing in 70%nearly 80% of our operating costs for the ferry at the fare box.from fares. We believe thatThis figure is higher than any other publicly funded ferry system that we are aware of. Basically, wWith $1.5 4 million per year from bridge tolls, our operating budget this yearin Fiscal Year 2000-2001 (July 2000 to June 2001) is around $7 6.2 million, meaning that $5.54.9 million has to comes from fares. However, the future addition of one or two more ferries could change this picture.
Maintenance and a Back-Up BoatThe Jet Cat Express
"With our two boatsthe Intintoli and Mare Island in full regular operation, day in and day out, we have indeed been very lucky not to have had anyonly a few major breakdowns. Currently, our boats are fueled and serviced over-night and on weekends by a splendid crew, headed by Captain Patrick Morgan, a Coast Guard licensed shipmaster.Master. His crew does miracles at the temporary, rather primitive facilities they we acquired from the Navy at Mare Island.
"But that This situation will improve dramatically in another year,the near future when we will acquire new equipment and move into larger facilities, directly across Mare Island Strait from the the river. These facilities will definitely be needed as over the next decade as we move to our full projected fleet of four a third high-speed catamarans and a back-up boat. , plus a fourth projected vessel in regular weekday service by 2007 or 2008."
But what happened to the original M/V Jet Cat Express that was supposed to serve as a back-upback up to the two new catamarans?
Ms. Belchamber responded, " Since the Jet Cat was too slow to effectively back-up the two new boats without disrupting schedules (requiring temporary schedule changes whenever the Intintoli or Mare Island were "in the shop), it Vallejo was decided to repower the boat boat to increase operating speed to at least 32 knots, and to revise its seating capacity to match the 301 passengers carried by the Intintoli and Mare Island. and increase its seating capacity so that it could effectively serve as a back-up.
"So, cSourrently, the Jet Cat is at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders shipyard in Freeland, Washington. New where new diesel engines and waterjets are being installed to increase the speed to 33 32 knots. A new pilothouse is being added to the third deck, and seating capacity increased tochanged to 300 301 passengers, consistent with the other two boas. By late summerSeptember, the Jet Cat, renamed the Vallejo, should be back in the Bay Area, ready to play an effective role in backing up the Intintoli and the Mare Island.
"to provideThis addition will greatly improve the reliability of full two-vessel service by providing an adequate back up, allowing and giving the two boats an opportunity for effective maintenance and an occasional rest for the Intintoli and the Mare Island, setting the stage for the further growth of Vallejo’s Baylink ferry service.
And Tomorrow!
"That brings us to ‘Vallejo Today’ with an efficient first-class ferry system that we are very proud of. But the future doesn’t stand still, and we are already planning for tomorrow with additional ferries and new transit facilities that will bring together Vallejo’s waterfront and downtown areas."
*The book, San Francisco Bay Ferry Boats by George H. Harlan, published by Howell-North Books in Berkeley provides much more detail on the history of early ferry service.
Mare Island
Vallejo waterfront
