Golden Gate Ferry

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Golden Gate Transit
Locale	San Francisco Bay Area (North Bay)
Transit type	Ferry
Began operation	15 August 1970 (ferry service)
Number of lines	2 ferry routes
Daily ridership	1.87 million yearly (FY 2006)
Operator(s)	Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District Official Website of GGBHTD

Golden Gate Ferry is one of three transportation systems owned and operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. The other two are the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Transit bus service, which connects San Francisco to Marin County. Funding for the ferry services is partially subsidized by bridge tolls, in addition to the traditional federal and state sources.

[edit] Cities Served

Golden Gate Ferry ^[1] serves Larkspur and Sausalito, California in Marin County and the San Francisco Ferry Building, providing fast ferry service.

[edit] Types of Ferry Service

Golden Gate Ferry offers regular passenger ferry service, with limited weekend service between Marin County and San Francisco. It also provides special ferry service for events like select home games of San Francisco Giants baseball, the annual Bay to Breakers, and day after Thanksgiving (originating from Larkspur only).

[edit] Days of Operation and Number of Trips

Golden Gate Ferry operates daily including limited holiday service^[2]. GGF does not operate on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

The following table presents a summary of the number of ferry trips provided by Golden Gate Ferry:

Buses also run to and from the ports.

To/From Larkspur (at E. Sir Francis Drake Blvd.):

• A commute bus leaves for the San Francisco Financial District (as Route 97) at 5:30am, arriving in San Francisco at 6:05am.
• Route 29, operated by Marin Transit, provides local service (but stopping at Larkspur Landing, not at the terminal itself) for ferry passengers from San Rafael, Larkspur, Greenbrae, Kentfield, and San Anselmo.
• Effective March 10, 2008, Marin Transit's Shuttle Route 221 will serve the Larkspur Ferry Terminal during peak periods only, with one trip mornings and two trips afternoons^[4] to serve ferry passengers coming from Larkspur, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, and Marin General Hospital.

To/From Sausalito:

• Several bus routes pass by or close by the ferry terminal (Bay and Humboldt), including:
  • 3 basic routes (Route 10 all day, Routes 70 and 80 late night)
  • 3 commute routes (Route 2, select morning Routes 4 and 60)
  • 1 local route (Route 22)
• Route 66, the Muir Woods Shuttle, serves the Sausalito Ferry and Marin City that connects ferry passengers from San Francisco to the famed Muir Woods in western Marin, and this route is operational from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.

Effective March 29, 2008, new weekend schedules take effect that will modify ferry schedules between Larkspur, Sausalito, and San Francisco.^[5] The details are as follows:

• Ferries leaving Larkspur, Sausalito, and San Francisco will be adjusted 5 to 15 minutes later to increase service efficiency.
• The last Larkspur ferry crossing to San Francisco, currently leaving at 5:30pm, will now have a stopover in Sausalito prior to continuing to the Ferry Building.
• One northbound ferry crossing from San Francisco to Sausalito will be canceled.

[edit] Fares and Transfers

Golden Gate Ferry provides different fares, depending on origin or destination in Marin County and method of payment.^[6]

Fare Category (one-way)	Origin/Destination	Cash Fare	Discounted Fare (Frequent Rider Tickets or TransLink)
Adult	Larkspur	US$7.10	US$4.45
	Sausalito	US$7.10	US$3.80
Youth (6-18), Seniors (65+), Disabled (), or Medicare	Larkspur or Sausalito	US$3.55	Not offered
Children under 5 years old (limit 2 per full-fare adult)	All ferry routes	Free	Free

Transfer details for Golden Gate Ferry are as follows:

• Ferry to SF MUNI: Free transfer coupons are given to ferry passengers. From Larkspur, get transfer at Larkspur Ferry Terminal before departure; from Sausalito, get transfer at San Francisco Ferry Building upon arrival. Surrender transfer coupon to MUNI driver to obtain valid MUNI transfer. This transfer is valid for 1-1/2 hours upon arrival. Note: transfers are not valid on cable cars.
• SF MUNI to Ferry: Free transfer to Golden Gate Ferry included in transfer coupon, and this transfer is valid for 24 hours upon receipt of transfer ticket.
• From Bus (Golden Gate Transit) to Ferry: Pay full transbay (cross bay) ferry fare (see ferry fare table above; more details here) in farebox when boarding the bus, and the bus operator will issue a transbay transfer. If paying by Ride Value (Bus) or Frequent Rider (Ferry) tickets, deposit ticket and additional cash amount (if necessary).
• From Ferry to Bus: Ferry customers will receive a transfer punched with the zone to which they paid. Transfer should be shown to bus driver when boarding, and customers may also add the difference in fares when boarding a bus.

[edit] Fleet

The Golden Gate Ferries', Sonoma crossing the bay.

Golden Gate Ferry has 3 Nickum & Spaulding monohulls and 2 catamarans in service today. ^[7] The Spauldings are named M.S. Marin, M.S. Sonoma, and M.S. San Francisco, and carry 715 passengers each. They were purchased from Philip Spaulding & Associates in San Diego, California in 1976-1977. Originally powered by gas turbine water jets, they were converted to diesel engine propeller drives in 1983-1985, with more efficient engines installed in 2001-2002.^[8] The catamarans are M.V. Del Norte (purchased 1998 390 passengers) and M.V. Mendocino (purchased 2001, 450 passengers). All of the ferries are wheelchair-accessible () and can store a limited number of bicycles on board. On-board refreshments are served on all ferry routes, including a full bar with mixed drinks.

[edit] See also

Golden Gate Ferry links with the following transit agencies in San Francisco and Marin County:

• AC Transit
• BART
• Marin Transit
• San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni)
• Vallejo Transit
• Western Contra Costa Transit (WestCAT)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Golden Gate Ferry
• Golden Gate Organization
• Golden Gate Transit
• Marin Transit
• TransLink - The Bay Area's Smart Card