The San Francisco Bay Ferry announced that its service to South San Francisco will not operate on Wednesday due to ongoing mechanical problems plaguing its fleet. This marks the second consecutive day of suspended ferry operations on this route, adding to the transportation woes of commuters who rely on the ferry to traverse the waters between the East Bay and South San Francisco.
According to a notice sent to commuters, the San Francisco Bay Ferry, which is under the management of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority, has been grappling with engine system issues across several vessels. This has resulted in a shortage of operational ferries, limiting service as of Monday and leading to a full suspension on Tuesday, with a continued halt in operations projected for Wednesday, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
During this disruption, the ferries typically navigating the South San Francisco, Oakland, and Alameda route on weekdays have been docked, while "our engineers and outside experts are working around the clock to identify the issues and repair vessels,” the ferry service stated. In light of the current repairs, WETA is hopeful for a return to the normal schedule by Thursday. Thomas Hall, a spokesperson for WETA, assured the public "We are so sorry for the major inconvenience this week caused by our fleet availability issues," to reassure and acknowledge the impact on daily commuters, as cited by the San Francisco Chronicle.
As of now, two ferries have been fixed and returned to service, with the third expected to rejoin the fleet by Wednesday. "We do not currently anticipate any other disruptions on Wednesday," the ferry service expressed in a message to riders, hinting at optimism for operations to go back to normal very soon, according to San Francisco Bay Ferry.
FERRY UPDATE: South San Francisco ferry service will remain suspended on Wednesday, January 10. We do not currently anticipate any other disruptions on Wednesday. Assuming all goes according to plan, we hope to resume normal service on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/bnb28LycSU
— San Francisco Bay Ferry (@SFBayFerry) January 9, 2024
