Archives

February 2000

Governor Gray Davis proposes $12 million for the new Bay Area Water Transit Authority's first year of operation. More...

The non-profit group formed last December to spread the word about plans for a comprehensive regional ferry plan, is growing fast. More...

These days, Vallejo ferry service is an unquestioned success story. Fast, modern ferryboats full to the brim with contented commuters speed between San Francisco and Vallejo every day. A beautiful terminal at the Vallejo end, seamless bus connections all the way to Sacramento, a state-of-the-art web site that even lets you track the boats as they cross the Bay; it all adds up to a premiere operation that can fairly be called the pride of the North Bay. Hard to believe that just 12 years ago ferry service to Vallejo was about to be eliminated – and surely would have been had it not been for the quick intervention of the Vallejo commuters. More...

"Quake riders" in Berkeley did more than just ride the ferry, they helped make it a reality. More...

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. More...

Read our new column by Richmond Ferry Rider Christine Cordi. "This inaugural commentary reminds me of other firsts in my life: the first time I went to school, my first solo, my first kiss, my first love, my — uh oh, I think this is going in the wrong direction". More...

John Leale was at the helm of San Francisco ferryboats for 41 years, from 1873 to 1914, the Golden Age of ferries on the Bay. He was in his prime as ferry service reached its zenith in the late 1800’s and played an important role in the relief effort after the Great Earthquake. He lived long enough to see the opening of the Bay Bridge that would nearly destroy ferry service in the Bay Area. His charming memoir, freighted with wit and wisdom, is a distilled accounting of Leales’ 125,000 round-trip crossings of San Francisco Bay. More...

Check out how the Government got people out of their cars when it really mattered. More...