Urban Passenger-Only Ferry Systems: Issues, Opportunities and Technologies

Increasing traffic load and urban sprawl have created a call for new passenger-only ferry systems in a number of urban areas, notably San Francisco. Urban ferry systems have traditionally been favored by environmental advocacy organizations and progressive land use and transportation planners. Ferry systems can offer a wide range of benefits. However, recent proposals have encountered unanticipated opposition based on perceived problems in these areas. There are also new technologies and other changes that may offer new opportunities and challenges. As a result, modern trends in speeds, propulsion systems and layout of both vessels and terminals may change significantly with the next generation of ferries. Primarily examining the San Francisco Bay Area as a case history in progress, the authors examine how these developments and new concepts of public transit efficiency, emissions, land use and system integration play key roles in the political viability of new ferry service, and how these considerations ultimately reflect back on the vessels themselves by imposing new sets of design constraints. Some short-term solutions are proposed, and long-term predictions for the shape of the mid- 21st Century urban ferry are presented.