New Orleans Regional Transportation Authority Director Alex Wiggins was on the hot seat before the City Council Transportation Committee Tuesday.
After spending $10-million on two new high-speed catamarans to cross roughly 2,000-feet from Algiers to Canal Street and back, the new craft have yet to be put in service.
The boats are unused due to issues with their construction and inability to pass Coast Guard safety certification for service.
But, Wiggins announced plans to get the boats repaired, inspected and launch service by the end of the year. RTA is still looking for a new operator for the ferry service, after dismissing Transdev in August.
WWL-TV reports RTA directors have hired a project management team to take command of the situation and get those boats certified and into revenue service.
Wiggins also said he is searching for replacement vessels to take over if the new boats can't past muster in time. RTA is actively looking for a charter boat service to take over the operation of the ferry service until the new boats are ready.
Transportation Committee Chair Kristen Palmer, who lives in Algiers, said "Our local businesses in Algiers are hurting really badly. Some of them are concerned about having to either lay people off or close their doors. I think they've already cancelled their home tour because they used to rely on people taking the ferry to get there."
Wiggins says RTA is working to get one of the old boats back in service by end of next week.