The waters of the Bay have been bustling with more activity as the San Francisco Bay Ferry celebrates a 16% leap in ridership during 2024. Transporting some 2.6 million passengers over the past year, the agency is closing in on the pre-pandemic rush, with its daily ridership hovering around 7,148 per day, nearly back to the way things used to be, with the last six months edging up to a solid 97% of what was seen before the world turned upside down.
Jim Wunderman, Chair of the SF Bay Ferry Board of Directors, noted in a statement to the press that the jump is rooted in strategic plays which include enticing fares and better schedules paired with the inherent perks of traveling by water, in the resilience of the ferry, it is clear that Bay Area residents recognize these choices as a means end to end the dread of gridlocked streets and relentless red lights. As Wunderman expressed, they're banking on the trend ascending even higher in 2025. According to the San Francisco Bay Ferry, morning commuters are particularly keen on dodging the highways, with a 14% uptick during peak times, while weekends have surged beyond the old normal by 15%, with some routes, notably Richmond and Harbor Bay, showing a robust 20% increase in traffic over last year.
Leaping beyond mere commuter service, SF Bay Ferry has also dived into new ventures with pilot programs in 2024 that courted an additional 55,000 passengers. These pilots, namely the Redwood City Ballpark Pilot, the Sea Change Hydrogen Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, and the Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle are signs of SF Bay Ferry's push to innovate and expand the reach and appeal of marine transport.
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