Pittsburg is the latest city to get on board with a plan to look at whether it makes sense to expand ferry service to more of Contra Costa County’s waterfront.
Pittsburg’s share of the $200,000 cost of a feasibility study will be $40,000. The City Council agreed to cover the cost with money from Pittsburg’s waterfront fund.
“The potential benefits include affordable and an efficient transit option,” Pittsburg analyst Sara Bellafronte told the council.
Bellafronte said there is regional interest in expanding the existing San Francisco Bay Ferry service to Contra Costa County. The newest – and farthest eastern route – was to Richmond, established in 2018.
Antioch, Hercules and Martinez, along with Contra Costa County, Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority have all expressed interest in expanding ferry service in the county, Bellafronte said. The Antioch City Council on Oct. 25 also agreed to pay its share of the cost of a feasibility study.
Though some cities like Antioch began considering commuter ferries more than a dozen years ago, it wasn’t until 2015 that the Contra Costa Transit Authority, in cooperation with the Water Emergency Transportation Authority, which operates the San Francisco Bay Ferry, commissioned an expansion study. That study included direct services to Richmond, San Francisco, Antioch and Martinez, as well as combined routes among the four locations.
That cooperative study showed rider costs at that time of $2.25 to $11.25 for adults, depending on the route, with discounts for youths and seniors and free tickets for those under 5.
“With short hops, those 10-minute routes would be about 50 cents to $1.25,” she said.
Commuting by ferry doesn’t take long, Bellafronte added, noting the average trips would be 10 minutes to 60 minutes. A trip from San Francisco to Hercules would be about 40 minutes, while the longest trip would be an estimated 90 to 120 minutes from San Francisco to Antioch, she said. Typical weekday operation hours would be from 6:30 a.m. to 8:25 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
“Another benefit is connectivity,” she said. “East Contra Costa would connect to West Contra Costa County, Solano County, Alameda County and San Francisco.”
Another plus is accessibility and convenience, Bellafronte said, noting the ferries would be ADA-accessible and tickets would be sold online, on apps or in person.
The 2015 study also estimated 411 daily weekday riders would use the expanded East Bay route to San Francisco and more than 1,000 would use the Antioch-Martinez-Hercules interconnect system.
Besides creating jobs for the operation of these extended routes, the 2015 study showed other economic benefits, she said.
“It’s possible that a ferry terminal could have positive economic multiplier effects in creating jobs and bringing visitors, although further study would need to be done to confirm potential economic impacts relative to other potential development opportunities and or activities,” Bellafronte said.
And, besides being environmentally friendly, the ferries could help provide emergency response when land and air transportation aren’t possible, she said.
Other current Bay Area ferry routes include Treasure Island ferry service, Golden Gate Ferry, Larkspur, Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island and Alcatraz ferry services.
Another ferry service, a San Francisco-based private company, Tideline Water Taxi, provides custom service out of several locations in San Francisco, Marin County and the East Bay, including Berkeley and Oakland, designed for small parties.
But while ferry service from San Francisco extends northeast to Solano County, the only ferry terminal in Contra Costa County is in Richmond.
Mayor Holland Barrett White said he supported an agreement to study a possible ferry system in Contra Costa County.
“I think that when we look at the funding availability at both the federal and state level, there are unprecedented dollars to help us see something like this into fruition for our community,” he said.
The mayor added that he thinks Pittsburg is well positioned with its location and infrastructure to become part of such a service.
“I hope that this doesn’t just stop at a feasibility study, but it actually turns into an opportunity for us to open up new pathways of travel for the people that live in our community but also what to visit for recreational and other things that that most cities benefit from in terms of tourism here locally,” he said.
Councilman Jelani Killings also supported the study, noting the city must do its “due diligence” to see what it would take to make a ferry system viable.
“I think that this study, obviously, is that first step in understanding (what it would take)…” he said.
The planning work for the expanded ferry service is expected to begin in early 2023 and to be completed by the end of that year. In addition to investigating estimated ridership, evaluating fare structure, and assessing operational and maintenance costs, the study will also assess the feasibility of using no-emission vessels for the service.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.