BY DAN ROSENHEIM Confronted with a choice between slow-growth fiscal conservatism and more rapid ferry service expansion, top Water Emergency Transportation Authority staff now advocate for the latter—even if it could mean pressing for new subsidies. WETA Executive Director Nina Rannells told the agency’s November board meeting that, after re-examining financial projections, she favors forging […]
BY DAN ROSENHEIM Bikes on Board: WETA reminds passengers that San Francisco Bay Ferry vessels have maximum bicycle capacity set according to Coast Guard safety standards. Crews cannot board more bikes than allowed in the Coast Guard’s certificate of inspection. WETA says this particularly affects the 4:20 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. departures from South San […]
BY DAN ROSENHEIM Chase Center Runs Proving Popular: WETA’s long-awaited runs from Alameda/Oakland to the new temporary dock at Pier 48½ near the Chase Center got off to a strong start with a sellout of the 175-ticket presale to passengers for the Warriors’ first home preseason game on October 5. “I’m thrilled we were able […]
BY DAN ROSENHEIM No one is selling ride tickets yet, but the cause of hovercraft ferry boats is attracting growing support around the Bay, having gone in the course of a year from little more than a gleam in the eye of aficionados to a substantive topic of study, planning and negotiation. The flat-bottomed boats […]
Ground was broken last month for Alameda’s third ferry terminal, the Seaplane Lagoon dock at Alameda Point. A group of builders, Alameda government officials and WETA staff gathered for the ceremony on the southern side of Alameda’s former naval air station. The terminal site, which will include a 400-vehicle parking lot, is expected to be […]
First there was one, then three, then five, and now more than 70 harbor seals a week are “hauling-out” on the floating concrete dock built especially for them in Alameda Point Harbor. Located a few hundred yards off WETA’s glistening new Central Bay Maintenance and Operations Facility, inaugurated just last December, the dock represents a […]
On September 26, Tideline Marine Group launched its latest passenger craft, the 75-foot, 149-passenger Peregrine. The new ferry boat is Tideline’s fourth vessel and by far its largest. The Tiburon-based private operator, which has financial backing from investment banker Richard Blum, operates two 45-passenger craft, as well as a smaller 20-passenger catamaran called Kestrel. The […]
Fall is just around the corner, the time when Treasure Island development authorities had been expected to clarify their expectations for a promised ferry service between the island and downtown San Francisco. At issue is how ferry operations will be financed and whether initial service will be provided by a public agency, the Water Emergency […]
The Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s board of directors has granted Tideline Marine Group a six-month extension of its agreement to use WETA’s Harbor Bay Terminal. Tideline had originally requested a one-year add-on to its current deal, which expires August 25. The full-year request was incorporated into a presentation at the August board meeting by WETA’s […]
It’s a self-described “imperfect solution,” but ferry operators and the Port of San Francisco have taken steps to ensure there will be ferry service when the new Chase Center Arena opens in Mission Bay this fall. By unanimous vote at their June board meeting, Water Emergency Transit Authority (WETA) directors approved plans to move ahead […]