Newest Ferry Joins Fleet of San Francisco Bay’s Growing Regional Ferry System
Public invited aboard for free rides on the Bay Area’s latest environmentally friendly vessel
The Bay Area today welcomed the Taurus to the region's growing fleet of ferryboats with a morning christening and launch ceremony at the Oakland Ferry Terminal attended by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, state Assemblymember Fiona Ma, Berkeley Mayor and MTC Commissioner Tom Bates, California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) Secretary Matthew Bettenhausen, Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman, and Charlene Haught Johnson, chair of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA).
“An expanding regional ferry system is a key component in the Bay Area’s strategy to cut freeway congestion and provide sustainable transportation options in the San Francisco Bay Area,” Congresswoman Lee said.
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who was unable to attend the launch event, added in a statement that “the investment we are making today in a robust regional ferry system is essential to ensuring we are equipped to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies tomorrow.”
Taurus is WETA’s fourth new passenger vessel. These environmentally friendly vessels represent the initial investments in a planned regional ferry system that will add up to seven new routes and increase WETA's capacity to respond in the event of a regional emergency. Together, the new routes are expected to triple ferry ridership on the Bay.
Service for WETA’s first new route, linking the East Bay to South San Francisco and many of the Bay Area’s biotech employers, is scheduled to begin in fall 2011. Environmental review and design work also is under way for new ferry routes linking Berkeley, Richmond, Hercules, Martinez, Antioch and Redwood City to downtown San Francisco.
“I am delighted to be here today for this important step to address Governor Schwarzenegger’s goal to ensure the safety of Californians,” said CalEMA’s Bettenhausen. “WETA’s work is important to prepare the Bay Area to respond and recover from manmade or natural disaster.” Cal EMA is responsible for leading the state’s emergency response to natural and manmade disasters.
“I want to thank everyone who has been instrumental in helping WETA to bring a world-class regional ferry service to the Bay Area,” WETA Board Chair Johnson added.
Together the four new WETA ferries cost $40 million to build, with $31.5 million coming from bridge tolls approved by Bay Area voters in 2004 through Regional Measure 2. Additional WETA funding comes from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Department of Transportation Ferry Boat Discretionary Program, State Proposition 1B Transit Security Grant Program, Regional Measure 1, and county transportation sales tax measure funds approved in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties.
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