The U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding almost three million dollars in funding to Bay Area transportation agencies. The funding can be used to construct and operate ferry boats, ferry terminals, and ferry maintenance facilities.
The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District received just over eight-hundred thousand dollars.
Nearly two million is going to San Francisco Bay Ferry, for new electric ferry infrastructure at the Oakland Ferry Terminal.
Switching to electric ferries makes sense, according to Director of Operations and Customer Service for SF Bay Ferry, Thomas Hall. They’re more environmentally friendly, require less maintenance, and electricity prices tend to be more stable than fuel prices.
The agency already has plans to build three 150-passenger battery-electric vessels and two 400-passenger battery-electric vessels.
The electric ferries are expected to enter into service as soon as 2027.
