So you all aren’t taking the ferry to South San Francisco are you?
A recent report revealed that the ferry service from Alameda/Oakland to South San Francisco has been pretty dismal. But then again, are we really surprised? The problem with the Oyster Point terminal is that it’s smack in the middle of nowhere, unlike the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco which branches out to a multitude of workplaces and public transportation options so that after you get to the terminal you can actually get to your workplace instead of saying, “now what?”
Excerpts from a San Francisco Examiner article:
The Peninsula-East Bay service that was launched with much fanfare in June has fallen far short of expectations. For the last week of February, the service averaged only 131 daily boardings — barely one-third of the projected ridership.
It has so far recorded a dismal 8.4 percent farebox recovery rate, meaning nearly 92 percent of its $3.4 million operating budget is subsidized by local and state taxpayers who don’t use the service.
In order to change its fortunes, WETA is suggesting that they add more trips to the route which seems like a bad idea.
Anyway, interestingly enough, do you remember that former Mayor and City Councilmember Beverly Johnson is on the WETA board. But her attendance was rather spotty in the last two years, here how it breaks down:
- 1/6/11: present
- 3/10/11: late
- 4/7/11: present
- 5/5/11: late
- 6/2/11: late
- 7/14/11: absent
- 9/15/11: present
- 10/6/11: late
- 11/3/11: present
- 12/8/11: late
- 1/5/12: late
- 2/16/12: absent
- 3/1/12: absent
- 3/15/12: n/a
- 4/5/12: absent
- 5/3/12: present
- 6/7/12: late
- 6/29/12: absent
- 8/2/12: absent
- 9/6/12: late
- 10/4/12: absent
- 11/1/12: absent
- 12/13/12: absent
- 1/10/13: absent
So that means out of 23 meetings (I didn’t count the one they didn’t have an agenda for), she was late eight time and didn’t bother to show up 10 times . Perhaps given that Beverly Johnson couldn’t make it to 43% of the meetings, it might be time to replace her on the WETA board to avoid another situation like the Associated Community Action Program (ACAP) lack of oversight because no one was going to the meetings. Including Alameda’s rep at that time, which has been mistakenly identified as Marie Gilmore but was in fact not her. Given the amount of taxpayer dollars that get diverted into WETA, it would be good to know that someone in Alameda was minding the store, particularly because Alameda was handed a coveted spot at the table. But a 57% attendance record — with most of those showing up late — isn’t going to cut it in the oversight department.
My guess is they’ve already decided to pull the plug on the whole fiasco.
Comment by Denise Shelton — March 21, 2013 @ 7:58 am
It will probabaly take awhile for them to build up ridership. The Oakland/Alameda ferry after many years is reaching capacity with little to no parking after the morning commute. It took several years for them to build up the ridership they have — but with many people discovering the East Bay as an alternative to SF rents, I would imagine it is just a matter of time before they begin to attract more riders.
Comment by Karen Bey — March 21, 2013 @ 11:37 am
Slightly off topic, I’ve long believed the ferry could/should add a 5:00AM boat (or maybe 5:30). There are a fair number of folks in the Financial district who work those hours.
Comment by dave — March 21, 2013 @ 1:34 pm
Dave, you may want to contact WETA by email: contactus@watertransit.org. and make that suggestion. I think it would be great to add a 5:00 am boat. As I mentioned earlier, they may have reached capacity or close to it, so it will be interesting to see how they respond.
With all the future housing developments in the pipeline – Alameda Landing, Marina Cove 11, Encinal Terminals, Boatworks, and Alameda Point, expansion of the Oakland/Alameda Ferry service needs to be addressed in the Alameda Point EIR.
Comment by Karen Bey — March 21, 2013 @ 4:29 pm
I worked for years at a bio-tech off Oyster Point. I lived in SF at the time, but how many people drive from the East Bay to Oyster Point. It would be a lot better use of resources to have more ferries to to SF or San Jose/Santa Clara.
Comment by joelsf — March 24, 2013 @ 3:01 pm
I don’t understand why Beverly Johnson was even on the WETA board if she didn’t want to make some effort to attend the meetings. They could have put me on there and I would have probably made it to at least 90% of the meetings and I actually ride the ferry when I go to SF.
Comment by joelsf — March 24, 2013 @ 3:32 pm
The biotech firms such as Genetech have extensive luxury shuttle bus services that feed from Milbrae, San Bruno, and South San Francisco BART stations. How can WETA compete that such an established service? They show up on a regular basis and whisk the employees away to work. Just a lot more effort to take the ferry.
Comment by Basel — March 24, 2013 @ 8:49 pm
I worked at Genetech for a little while…the problem is it took over a hour to get to and from work…I am sure the ferry is quicker…if you live close to the ferry terminals.
Comment by Joe — April 1, 2013 @ 4:40 pm