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Start-up costs high for ferry
Woodbridge-to-Washington commuter ferry may attract enough passengers to stay afloat, but service would need millions for start-up costs
Date published: 9/17/2009
By KELLY HANNON A commuter ferry between Woodbridge and the Washington Navy Yard could attract enough passengers to operate, but start-up costs would be steep. Purchasing boats and upgrading docks for the Potomac River ferry would cost between $22 million and $30 million, and running the ferry would cost $3.8 million a year, according to a feasibility study. To recoup 40 percent of annual expenses, ferry passengers would have to pay an average of $11 round-trip, which equals $55 a week or $220 a month. In addition, the ferry would rely partially on public support, similar to Virginia Railway Express and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission bus network. To stay afloat, the ferry would need to attract a minimum of 141,300 passengers a year. Results from the ferry study, funded by a $225,000 state grant, were released this week. The study was overseen by Prince William County and the Virginia Department of Transportation, working with engineering consulting firm Greenhorne & O'Mara. The study included test ferry runs using a 149-passenger boat. On Tuesday, Prince William County supervisors reviewed the study's findings and unanimously directed county staff to conduct a marketing study. The study estimates at least 175,000 passengers would ride the ferry, about 30,000 more than the minimum needed. But a marketing study is still needed to know who those riders would be, how they commute to work now and where they live, said Rick Canizales, Prince William County transportation planning manager. "I think they're very curious to see if this would attract new riders, or if this is something that just pulls off of other transit systems," Canizales said. Previous Woodbridge-to-Washington ferry discussions in the 1980s and 1990s fizzled over cost concerns and lack of rider interest. Virginia Railway Express was getting started at the time, and county officials feared a ferry would siphon riders away from the train--as well as buses, carpools and vanpools--instead of attracting individuals driving alone. This debate will likely be renewed. Fredericksburg-area residents could use the ferry to reach work destinations in Southeast Washington, although they would have to add driving time to the boat's launching point.
Date published: 9/17/2009
Ferry
(posted by
observer
, Sep. 17, 2009 9:47 am)
Anything to unclog 95 is progress. Due to now being a warm era
the ferry is a possibility. In Colonial days the Potomac, Baltimore
and New York harbors routinely froze solid in brutally cold winters.
Warm and cold era come and go. The last "little Ice Age" lasted
about 500 years from 1350 to 1850. Enjoy the warmth while its
here.
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