San Francisco's Treasure Island Ferry has now been providing daily service to and from the island for a week, offering residents scenic views as they avoid traffic on the Bay Bridge.
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The ferry was my first stop following San Francisco Mayor London Breed's press conference announcing the service on March 1. She was excited to hear about KCBS Radio's travels, issuing an unofficial executive order.
"Make sure you sit facing San Francisco," Breed suggested.
It was an easy suggestion to follow. I was the only passenger on the boat.
"Well, there haven't been very many people," Scottie, one of three crew members, told KCBS Radio last Tuesday, as the crew outnumbered passengers during each of our trips. "I guess the word hasn't gotten around. It's sort of a soft opening."
Once I settled into one of the 48 open seats, I could see what the mayor meant. The view was spectacular.
San Francisco looked like a postcard. That beauty is made even more dramatic because the ferry is small, much like a tugboat.
"The small- or medium-sized ferry experience is unique," James Jaber, CEO of Prop, which operates the boat, told KCBS Radio. "It is not a giant ferry or a large ferry. You're gonna feel the water."
He told KCBS Radio that a ferry makes sense, especially as commutes start to look much more like those from before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That span, the western span of the bridge, can be pretty treacherous to cross in certain hours of the day," Jaber said.
But as development continues, congestion is only going to get worse. Jaber said a robust and affordable ferry service will help alleviate some of that traffic.
"The ultimate goal is to get ridership to a point where it can support multiple vessels," he said.
For now, there’s one boat which runs everyday starting at 6 a.m. One-way tickets cost $5.
The trip itself takes about ten minutes, which is nice when the ferry isn’t on time or doesn’t show up at all.
"Whenever you put a boat in the water, you start running a new route, you're gonna have some wrinkles that need to be ironed out," Jaber said.
Wrinkles, Jaber said, that are improving each day.
The view on board certainly helps.
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