Golden Gate Ferry
 | |
| Locale | San Francisco Bay Area |
|---|---|
| Waterway | San Francisco Bay (North Bay) |
| Transit type | Passenger ferry |
| Owner | Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |
| Operator | Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |
| Began operation | August 15, 1970 |
| No. of lines | 3 |
| No. of vessels | See below |
| No. of terminals | 4 |
| Daily ridership | 8,219 (FY 2015) |
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. Golden Gate Ferry connects San Francisco to Marin County, California. Funding for the ferry service is composed primarily of passenger fares and bridge toll subsidies.
Routes and schedules
Service area
Golden Gate Ferry serves Larkspur and Sausalito in Marin County and San Francisco.[1]
Routes
Golden Gate Ferry operates regular passenger ferry service from Larkspur and Sausalito to the San Francisco Ferry Building. It also operates limited service from Larkspur to AT&T Park, including for all San Francisco Giants baseball home games. Supplemental service is provided for special events, such as the annual Bay to Breakers footrace.[1]
Schedules
Note: Schedule information listed below is current as of 28 December 2015.[2]
| Origin | Weekdays to San Francisco | Weekdays from San Francisco | Weekends/holidays to San Francisco | Weekends/holidays from San Francisco | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of trips | Depart first ferry | Depart last ferry | Number of trips | Depart first ferry | Depart last ferry | Number of trips | Depart first ferry | Depart last ferry | Number of trips | Depart first ferry | Depart last ferry | |
| Larkspur | 20 | 5:45am | 8:50pm | 20 | 6:20am | 9:35pm | 4 | 9:30am | 4:45pm | 4 | 12:40pm | 7:25pm |
| Sausalito | 9 | 7:10am | 7:20pm | 9 | 7:40am | 7:55pm | 6 | 11:20am | 6:45pm | 6 | 10:40am | 6:00pm |
On weekday mornings, one trip each on Golden Gate Transit Routes 24 and 97 provide supplemental service before the first ferry departure from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal to the San Francisco Financial District.
Holidays include Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. No service operates on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. A reduced schedule operates on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Day after Thanksgiving, and on the days around Christmas and New Year's Day.[2]
Transfer connections
The Larkspur Ferry Terminal is served by Golden Gate Transit Routes 25, 31, and 37. These Larkspur Ferry Shuttle routes are timed to meet ferry crossings during weekday commute hours. Additional service is provided by Marin Transit Routes 17, 29, and 228, which stop on East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in front of the terminal.
The Sausalito Ferry Terminal is served by Golden Gate Transit Routes 2, 4, 10, 70, and 92, which pick up on Bridgeway. Additional service is provided by Marin Transit Routes 17, 61, and 66F, which pick up on Bay Street.
The San Francisco Ferry Building is served by numerous Muni bus and streetcar lines, a SolTrans bus line, and several San Francisco Bay Ferry lines.
Fares and transfers
Fares
Golden Gate Ferry fares differ by route, passenger type, and method of payment.[3] Fares are effective 28 February 2016.
| Fare category | Line | Single ride fare | Clipper card fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | Larkspur – Ferry Building | $10.50 | $7.00 |
| Sausalito – Ferry Building | $11.25 | $6.00 | |
| Larkspur – AT&T Park | $12.50 | ||
Youth (ages 5 through 18), Senior (ages 65 and over), Disabled ( ), or Medicare |
Larkspur – Ferry Building | $5.25 | |
| Sausalito – Ferry Building | $5.50 | ||
| Larkspur – AT&T Park | $12.50 | ||
| Children 4 years old and younger (limit 2 per full-fare adult) | All ferry routes | Free | |
Transfers to/from Golden Gate Transit
Transfers from Golden Gate Ferry to Golden Gate Transit are available only with use of the Clipper card. Transfers from Golden Gate Transit to Golden Gate Ferry are available with cash or use of the Clipper card.
From ferry to bus: Transfers are valid for 4 hours for inter-county travel. Transfers may be used up to 3 times to complete a one-way journey.
From bus to ferry: Same as when transferring from ferry to bus. In addition, passengers can deposit the full ferry fare into the farebox when boarding the bus, and the bus operator will issue a Transbay transfer.
Transfers to/from Muni
Free transfers to and from San Francisco Muni are no longer available. Instead, passengers using a Clipper card have the following transfer opportunities:
From ferry to Muni: Adult Clipper customers transferring from GGF to Muni receive a $0.50 credit on their Muni Clipper fare (e-cash only); youth, senior, and disabled Clipper customers are not covered by the transfer credit. Single ride-paying customers do not receive any transfer discount or credit towards travel on Muni.
From Muni to ferry: Clipper customers transferring from Muni to GGF receive a $0.50 ($0.25 youth/senior/disabled) credit on their GGF Clipper fare. Cash-paying customers do not receive any transfer discount or credit towards travel on Golden Gate Ferry.
Fleet
The first vessel to provide ferry service was the M.S. Golden Gate.[4] Before she was retired in 2004, she made 42,108 round trips between Sausalito and San Francisco, carried 21 million passengers and steamed nearly 1.3 million nautical miles (2,400,000 km; 1,500,000 mi), the equivalent of about 45 times around the world.[5]
Golden Gate Ferry has four catamarans and three Spaulding monohull vessels in service today.[6]
The Spaulding vessels are named M.S. Marin, M.S. San Francisco, and M.S. Sonoma. They Marin can carry 750 passengers, and the San Francisco and Sonoma can carry 630 passengers each. They were purchased from Philip F. Spaulding & Associates in San Diego in 1976–1977. They were originally powered by gas turbine water jets but were converted to diesel engine propeller drives in 1983–1985. More efficient diesel engines were installed in 2001 and 2002.[7]
The catamarans are M.V. Del Norte (purchased 1998, 400 passengers), M.V. Golden Gate (purchased 2009, 450 passengers), M.V. Mendocino (purchased 2001, 450 passengers), and M.V. Napa (purchased 2009, 450 passengers).
All ferries are wheelchair accessible () and can carry bicycles; the catamarans can carry 15 bicycles, the Marin can carry 100 bicycles, and the San Francisco and Sonoma can carry 25 bicycles. All ferries have on-board refreshments, including a full bar with mixed drinks.
The M.S. Marin underwent a full refurbishment in November 2006, including all new seating, paint, deck covering and carpeting, ceilings and wall paneling, lighting, PA system, restrooms, refreshment stand, security cameras, windows, bicycle racks, generator and electrical systems, and modern wheelchair lift. It re-entered service in July 2007.[8]
Golden Gate Ferry purchased two catamarans from Washington State Ferries in January 2009. The M.V. Snohomish was renamed M.V. Napa and entered service in May 2009. The M.V. Chinook was renamed M.V. Golden Gate, underwent refurbishing, and entered service in May 2011. The M.V. Napa underwent refurbishment starting in late 2009.[9]
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Golden Gate Ferry. |
Golden Gate Ferry links with the following transit agencies in San Francisco and Marin County:
References
- 1 2 "Golden Gate Bus & Ferry Services". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- 1 2 Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (28 December 2015). "Golden Gate Ferry Schedules". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.
- ↑ "Ferry Fare Programs". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ http://cisl.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ferry4.jpg
- ↑ http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/After-40-years-ferries-thriving-on-S-F-Bay-3256150.php
- ↑ "Golden Gate Ferry's Routes & Fleet". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ↑ "History of Golden Gate Ferry Service". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ↑ "Golden Gate Ferry Welcomes Back the M.S. Marin". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. 22 June 2007.
- ↑ "M.V. Napa Arrives in Larkspur May 11, 2009". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. 11 May 2009.
