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The Alameda/Oakland Ferry ducks under the Bay Bridge. Photo by the author.
All we know for certain is that the Bay Bridge is now closed and will probably remain closed for the next 24 hours. There are 150,000 people who use the Bay Bridge to get to San Francisco from the East Bay and they will join the 130,000 or so who use BART and the Vallejo and East Bay ferries.
We know from the last closure that BART parking lots will fill up early, so plan ahead. Most people seem to ignore the ferries as both AC Transit and 511.org do not list the ferries as an alternative. AC Transit will deliver you to BART in its emergency plans, even though it serves East Bay ferry terminals.
As of 9:30 PM, the ferry system had not posted emergency schedules although for the last closure, they operated services on a half hour basis. Even though the bureaucrats have gone home there is a good chance that the ferry service will respond as it did the last time. However in case they are asleep and if you plan to use the ferry (and its free parking lots), check the normal schedule on line and show up early as capacity limits prescribed by the US Coast Guard will be enforced and may leave passengers at the terminal.
Free parking in Oakland is across from the new movie theatre at Washington and Embarcadero (the railroad tracks in the middle of the street). Parking at Alameda Main St. or Harbor Bay is simply an open lot. Oakland is a bit more complicated, so follow these directions:
For parking under 12 hours:
1. You will receive a parking ticket upon entering the garage. Bring this ticket to the ferry terminal (located at the foot of Clay St. One block to the West or right of the garage and then left at Clay St.).
2. Insert the parking ticket into one of the validation machines located on the water side of the terminal glass doors.
3. Upon returning to the garage, you can go directly to your vehicle to exit the garage. There is no need to stop at the Pay-on-Foot machines on the first floor.
The choice for the morning commute is simple. Be a sardine on BART or smell the sardines on the ferry. Check for emergency schedules at: http://www.eastbayferry.com/
Comments
Why should anyone care about ferries? Each ferry carries fewer people than one typical BART train and requires twice the farebox subsidy as a typical AC Transit route. The ferries deserve to be a pollution-billowing afterthought. They are a hole in the water for scarce transit dollars to disappear.
The Harbor Bay ferry contacted everyone that signed up for the call service.
@Gerry Ohh quiet. The ferries are so much better than BART. I love the ferries so much more than BART. I get to work quicker, get free transfers, and the new ferry uses bio-diesel.
Gerry: You are essentially correct and that is the reason I have been harping about ferry capacity. The problem is, like Zac, I like riding the ferry. It is perhaps the most social commute one might have in the Bay Area and the sweeping Bay views force me to take photographs.
BART cannot double its capacity overnight, so now we get a real test of the ferries capability in an emergency. Let's see what happens and then examine the value of ferries.
Guy: I understand the ferry may be social and picture perfect. But are these important metrics for transit viability?
I'm all for ferries, don't get me wrong, but the ability to drink and take pictures is a premium that should be borne by the riders who choose it. By your logic, BART should turn into a fleet of plush Bar Cars, damn the load factor and efficiency impact. Maybe they turn the tube into a glass ceiling photo aquarium photo opp?
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