MBTA Boat

MBTA Boat

The Edward Rowe Snow arriving at Long Wharf on the F4 route
Locale	Greater Boston
Waterway	Boston Harbor
Transit type	Passenger ferry
Operator	Boston Harbor Cruises under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
No. of lines	3 MBTA-funded routes 1 state-funded route 1 locally funded route
No. of terminals	9
Daily ridership	4,464 (2013)[1]

Legend Legend Boston Harbor Navy Yard Long Wharf Logan Airport Rowes Wharf Georges IslandSeasonal Pemberton Point, Hull Grape IslandSeasonal Hewitt's Cove, Hingham

The MBTA Boat system is a public boat service providing water transportation in the Greater Boston area via Boston Harbor. Both inner harbor and longer distance commuter ferries are operated. The services are operated by Boston Harbor Cruises under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Current service runs from two wharves on the Boston waterfront to the Boston Navy Yard, Logan Airport, Hewitt's Cove in Hull, and Pemberton Point in Hingham. Two additional seasonal routes, not funded by the MBTA but included on some MBTA documents, run from Boston to Lynn and Salem.

In fiscal year 2013, the MBTA-funded portion of the system carried 4,464 passengers per weekday, accounting for 0.32% of total fixed-route MBTA ridership.^[1]

Routes

Inner Harbor Ferry

• F4 Boston (Long Wharf) - Charlestown Navy Yard service runs year-round on weekdays with ferries operating on 15-minute headways at rush hour and 30-minute headways at other times, and on a reduced schedule on weekends. The fare is $3.25; Zone 1A passes on CharlieCards are accepted.

Two additional routes - the F3 Lovejoy Wharf - Boston Navy Yard and F5 Lovejoy Wharf - World Trade Center via Moakley Courthouse - began operation in 1997 during Big Dig construction. They were discontinued on January 21, 2005 due to low ridership. The F5X Lovejoy Wharf - World Trade Center Express route was not funded by the MBTA and was run until February 24, 2006.^[1]

East Boston

Ferry service to East Boston began in the 1830s as a connection to the Eastern Railroad, and ferries ran until 1952.^[2] Service ran from a wharf at Lewis Street to Long Wharf from 1995 to 1997; it was discontinued due to extremely low ridership as the Blue Line provided a faster and more frequent service along the same corridor.^[3][4][5]

In 2011, then-mayor Thomas Menino proposed ferry service between East Boston and Fan Pier on the South Boston Waterfront, a route without current direct transit service.^[3] In August 2012, the Federal Highway Administration awarded $1.28 million to the city for the purchase of two boats.^[6] In September 2012, the Boston Redevelopment Authority accepted the grant and agreed to rehabilitate the East Boston Marine Terminal for the ferries, which were then expected to begin operation in 2013.^[7] In August 2014, the MBTA opened bidding for providing the two boats for East Boston service.^[8] Bidding is expected to close on September 10, 2014.

South Shore

The MBTA-owned Lightning on F2H service in August 2013

• F1 Boston (Rowes Wharf) - Hingham service runs year-round on weekdays only. The fares is $8.50; MBTA Commuter Rail passes from Zone 5 and above are accepted.
• F2 – Boston (Long Wharf) - Hingham and Hull via Logan Airport service runs year-round on weekdays and weekend service during the summer. Weekend summer service, last operated in 1998 and 1999, was introduced on May 24, 2014.^[9] Not all trips stop at Logan or Hingham; some also stop at Grape Island and Georges Island. The fare is $8.50 from Hingham and Hull to Boston (with Zone 5 or above passes accepted); higher fares are charged to Logan Airport from all terminals.

Previously, F2 service operated directly to the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, with trips serving Hull designated F2H. Quincy service was temporarily discontinued on October 14, 2013, with boats redirected to Hingham, when a water main break added to existing structural problems with the sea wall at the Quincy wharf. In January 2014, the MBTA made the closure (and increased Hingham service) permanent after it was determined that repairs would cost $15 million for five years of additional service, or $50 million for 50 years. The damage also forced the closure of the USS Salem museum.^[10][11] In July 2014, a neighboring shipyard purchased the Quincy site from the MBTA. The Salem will stay until 2015, when it will be moved to East Boston.^[12]

North Shore

The Salem Fast Ferry in June 2009

Two summer-only routes to the North Shore operated by Boston Harbor Cruises are not funded by the MBTA, but are included on MBTA maps:

• Lynn Ferry - Operates from Lynn Ferry Terminal to Central Wharf. Service began on May 19, 2014 with three weekday round trips, as a two-year pilot program funded by the state.^[13] Fares are $3.50; MBTA Commuter Rail passes from Zone 2 or above are accepted for fares.
• Salem Fast Ferry - Operates from Salem Ferry Terminal to Long Wharf. Service began on June 22, 2006, and currently runs with five round trips on weekdays and weekends. The service is funded by the city of Salem.^[14][15] Fares are $8 for commuters and $17 for others; MBTA passes are not accepted.

Operation

All MBTA-funded services are operated by Boston Harbor Cruises under contract to the MBTA. The MBTA owns two of the boats used on these routes. The North Shore routes are also operated by Boston Harbor Cruises, but under contract to state and municipal entities.

Finances and averted cuts

MBTA Boat services have the highest farebox recovery ratio of any MBTA service type, at 55% by a 2012 report. However, the service still operates at a $5 million annual loss to the MBTA and carries a relatively small percentage of passengers, which has resulted in calls for its discontinuance or modification.^[16] In 2012, facing a substantial budget gap, the MBTA proposed substantial service cuts and fare increases. All ferry routes were to be cut, resulting in $3.7 million savings for the agency.^[17] Temporary measures were found to avoid some service cuts including the ferries; however, weekend Quincy service was eliminated and fares raised 35% in an attempt to eliminate the subsidy required.^[18] State lawmakers also then proposed that Massport take over the ferries from the MBTA.^[19]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MBTA Boats.

• MBTA Commuter Boat
• Boston Harbor Cruises - Commuter Services
• Boston Harbor Cruises - Salem Fast Ferry

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Subway lines (List of stations) Heavy rail      Blue      Orange      Red Light rail      Green "B" Branch "C" Branch "D" Branch "E" Branch      Ashmont–Mattapan      Commuter Rail lines (List of stations) North Station lines Fitchburg Haverhill (Wildcat Branch) Lowell Newburyport/Rockport South Station lines Fairmount Framingham/Worcester Franklin Greenbush Needham Old Colony (Kingston/Plymouth Middleborough/Lakeville      CapeFLYER) Providence/Stoughton Bus routes (List of routes)      Silver Crosstown routes Key routes Trackless trolleys Routes East Boston, Chelsea, Revere Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield South Boston Other services      Boat The Ride Component parts of system lines      Boylston Street Subway      Haymarket North Extension      Lechmere Viaduct      Tremont Street Subway      Washington Street Subway Under construction           Government Center closure      Green Line Extension      South Coast Rail      Wachusett extension Proposed      Lynn extension           Red Line—Blue Line Connector Urban Ring Project      North–South Rail Link      Plaistow extension      Nashua extension      Westerly extension      Indigo Line (Fairmount Grand Junction Track 61) History Predecessor companies Boston Elevated Railway Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Middlesex and Boston Street Railway Newton and Boston Street Railway Former lines      Atlantic Avenue Elevated      Causeway Street Elevated      Charlestown Elevated      Green Line "A" Branch      Lexington Branch Streetcar lines      Washington Street Elevated      Woburn Loop      History of the Green Line Other Accessibility Arts on the Line "Charlie on the M.T.A." CharlieCard Police Nomenclature Yards and maintenance facilities