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Commuter ferry gets test runs next month
Prince William County could launch commuter ferries up the Potomac River to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, Washington Navy Yard
Date published: 4/24/2009
By KELLY HANNON With traffic clogging area roads, Prince William County hopes commuting will be swifter on a route without cars--the Potomac River. Passenger ferries are being floated as one more way to move people from the suburbs to work. Prince William County is using $225,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation to study the idea's potential. It will conduct test boat runs on May 4, 5 and 6 from stops at Prince William marinas at Quantico, Dumfries and Occoquan to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria and the Washington Navy Yard. The test boat will be a catamaran that seats 149. Riding the ferry to work would be a low-stress, scenic option, said Rick Canizales, Prince William transportation planning manager. "People are envisioning wifi and a little snack bar where they can buy concessions, where you can have your coffee and sit on a new commuter system that will get you where you need to go in a relatively short amount of time," Canizales said. The idea is not new. In the late 1980s, attempts to start a commuter ferry on the Potomac River with stops in Stafford, Prince William and Washington failed when officials concluded that the expense per passenger to run the boats was too high. Another study in the late 1990s reached the same conclusion. Also, Virginia Railway Express was trying to grow ridership at the time, and it seemed wrong to start a service that would siphon away potential passengers, Canizales said. Today, some VRE trains are at capacity, with passengers standing in train aisles, Canizales said. "It adds a transportation alternative," he said. No information is available yet on ferry ticket prices, schedules, stops, the type of boat to be used or how many passengers it could carry. The VDOT-funded feasibility study will look only at whether running the boats is environmentally and logistically possible, Canizales said, and it will give planners a better sense of how long trips will take. He expects the boats would travel 30 to 32 knots per hour except where there are no-wake provisions. The feasibility study should be wrapped up in midsummer. If the Prince William Board of Supervisors decides to pursue the idea, the county would conduct a market study to see if enough passengers would ride the boats, and how much they would be willing to pay. The county would have to order the boats, a process that could add another 18 months to two years, Canizales said. Ferries could increase commuting options for area residents who work at the Washington Navy Yard, which has fewer direct transit options than other work destinations, Canizales said. The study will also look at potential stops in Maryland at Indian Head, Marshall Hall and National Harbor. Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Date published: 4/24/2009
if fares are too high.....
(posted by
larryg
, Apr. 25, 2009 3:50 pm)
different modes have different costs but if our attitude is to subsidize them one and all - we really are not letting the
marketplace do it's job. People who want to commute for higher salaries.. better homes and cars... granite countertops,
etc.. should be ready, willing and able to pay for their commutes - part of the bargain of commuting for "more".
the HOT Lanes will do is deliver some of the revenues to improve (subsidize) other commuting modes. what does it mean
for one mode to subsidize another?
Yea, and as for costs...
(posted by
spotsylady
, Apr. 25, 2009 3:12 pm)
...with any form of transportation, there is an increasingly fine line that creeps in a catch-22. Fares need to be high enough to support whatever transportation mode it is, but if it's too high, people will bail and seek another option. Sounds like that's what the article is hinting at all well. No idea what the fare would be for something as exclusive (~150 passengers per boat) for the ferry. It'll be interesting to see if this goes forward. Sure would be scenic!
that you have "no choice" but to commute that
(posted by
larryg
, Apr. 25, 2009 12:49 pm)
you are entitled to a subsidy.
So give the Ferry Boat a shot - but charge the fares that must be charged for it to be economically
viable.
ditto with all the other modes.
Again - each commuter has made a personal decision to commute and they legitimately own the
financial consequences of that decision.
Subsidies to people who commute for higher salaries is wrongheaded. If you want to commute to
make more money - go for it - but do pay your own legitimate costs.
HOT Toll Lanes will encourage alternate mode commuting
(posted by
larryg
, Apr. 25, 2009 12:45 pm)
VRE, vans, buses, slugs, carpooling... but it also will allow folks to drive solo if it suits their needs and they are willing to pay - and the revenues will be used to
develop more transit and more transit options.
But at the end of the day - people should pay for their own commuting costs - no matter what mode they choose. That's a personal responsibility and no one
owes you a subsidy for the choices that you've made.
that's what we need to move away from - the idea that because in your mind you feel
Roads?
(posted by
spotsylady
, Apr. 25, 2009 12:10 pm)
Making I95 easier doesn't take cars off the roads, it puts them back on. Focus needs to shift from asphalt to an alternate, whether it's rail, ferry, or even car/van pools that use the roads, but MUCH more effectively than one person in a hybrid. For it's trouble and congestion, I95 actually looks pretty nice, aesthetically. I know for sure that I don't wanna see a vast stretch of concrete.
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