Water Transportation in and around Boston

HelloBostonHi said:
That is nowhere near as nice as the temporary ferry that had running during the blue line closure... Can't imagine you'll fit too many bikes on that thing
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Yeah, doesn't look like it would be very accommodating to bikes, unfortunately. The other issue is schedule frequency. I was going to use the service on Wednesday, but left my house just late enough, that I wasn't sure I'd make it to Long Wharf in time. With half hour frequencies, I was therefore better off riding the extra four miles of land route, rather than waiting for the next ferry.
 
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Boat I rode this afternoon was larger, interestingly zero fare collection though.
 
Isn't that one of the vessels they frequently use for the F4?
 
We had some friends (attempt to) take it yesterday. They're collecting fares now. You can buy a one-way or round trip in the mTicket app (no cash or paper tickets accepted). You can also use the monthly linkpass, but only the paper ticket version that's good for Commuter Rail Zone 1a too. This is what hung our friends up - they have passes on Charlie Cards which the operator didn't accept. Rather than buy ferry tickets, they just walked over to Maverick and took the Blue Line. This is definitely one of those obnoxious quirks of the T's fare collection system which hopefully will be fixed soon.
 
www.bostonglobe.com

Commuters to get new ferry route from North Station to Seaport - The Boston Globe

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is launching a new ferry route from Lovejoy Wharf to the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, on the Seaport’s outer edge.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

New MCCA ferry stop being added at the far end of the seaport by the drydock, for the benefit of workers in the Black Falcon / Vertex buildings and others out this way in Ray Flynn.

That said, since they're available to the public, I still believe these MCCA routes should appear on the MBTA map or at least Google maps; I realize they use different ticketing systems and different operators, but both are state agencies that should be able to reconcile that.
 
Stlin said:
www.bostonglobe.com

Commuters to get new ferry route from North Station to Seaport - The Boston Globe

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is launching a new ferry route from Lovejoy Wharf to the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, on the Seaport’s outer edge.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

New MCCA ferry stop being added at the far end of the seaport by the drydock, for the benefit of workers in the Black Falcon / Vertex buildings and others out this way in Ray Flynn.

That said, since they're available to the public, I still believe these MCCA routes should appear on the MBTA map or at least Google maps; I realize they use different ticketing systems and different operators, but both are state agencies that should be able to reconcile that.
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I take the Fan Pier ferry decently often when it’s too cold or inclement to bike(I’m on it right now). Reading the article I can’t tell if it will make the stop in the inbound or outbound direction?

NS>Fan Pier>Drydock>NS
Or
NS>Drydock>Fan Pier>NS

As it stands the ferry only beats the alternatives of GL>RL>SL and walking from Govt Center by <10 minutes.

The new stop will unfortunately make the ferry even less time competitive with walking, unless they plan to make two stops at Fan Pier on each round trip. Hopefully new ridership makes up for that loss, because I don’t think I’d take it anymore if it was 30 minutes to Fan Pier.
 
I still believe these MCCA routes should appear on the MBTA map or at least Google maps
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They've been on Google Maps for a while now. If you get directions from a north side CR route to the Seaport, it'll suggest the ferry as an option. The catch is that GMaps tries to minimize walking transfers, and North Station to Lovejoy is such a transfer, so it'll prefer the "same station" departures of Orange/Green lines.
 
Direct link to the MBTA's ferry names contest.

And the full text (since it's an MBTA press release and not a newspaper article, fair use rules do not apply):

MBTA Opens Contest for Students K-8 to Help Name Three Ferries​

Posted on April 10, 2025​

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is hosting a ferry naming contest to help the agency name three ferries which will serve the Quincy, Winthrop and Lynn ferry routes starting this summer.

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is proud to advance public transportation access across Massachusetts by expanding our fleet to meet growing travel demand,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “Ferries are a vital part of our multimodal network, and this naming contest is a fun way to spark creativity, engage the public, and celebrate the unique joy of traveling by water.”

“We love giving the community opportunities to engage with the T. We hope that riders, young and old, take pride and joy in seeing a name representative of their own community's history when they ride the ferry,” said General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. "We look forward to the christening ceremony where we can acknowledge the creativity of the local youth."

This contest is open to students in grades K–8 from Boston, Quincy, Winthrop, and Lynn, including public and private schools, as well as homeschooled students.
One entry per classroom or student (if they are home schooled) may be submitted.

Ferry service is the first form of public transportation in Boston and is one of the oldest forms of public transportation in the United States. For hundreds of years, ferries have connected coastal communities in and around Boston, including during the American Revolution. This year commemorates the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolution.

The proposed name should reflect the history, character, or connection of the student’s city to the American Revolution. All submissions must include a brief explanation of the inspiration behind the name.

Entries may be submitted online here by 11:45 pm Friday, May 9, 2025. Please direct questions to publicengagement@mbta.com.
An internal MBTA panel will review the submissions and select one name for each ferry based on the route it will primarily serve.

Winners will be notified on or before May 30, 2025. Winners from Boston, Lynn, Quincy, or Winthrop will receive a $100 gift card for school supplies and a ferry ride pizza party for their respective classroom. Winners will also be invited to attend the christening ceremony for their city’s ferry, which is anticipated to be held this summer.

In 2024, nearly 78,000 riders commuted on over 3,800 Winthrop/Quincy and Lynn ferry trips. Learn more about MBTA ferry service at www.mbta.com/schedules/ferry.
 
I realize the ferries are by far the most overlooked aspect of the MBTA, but with the new operator scheduled to transition over between April 1 and July 1, as far as I can tell outside of the RFP, there hasn't actually been an award to a service provider? As Hornblower is bankrupt, I presume it's unlikely to be a renewal.

It took me a bit of digging - these 3 new boats being named aren't new-new, but used boats that the T has been shopping for recently. No idea where they're funding it from since it's not in the CIP they've been pulling the money from, but last year the T bought a boat from Maine (Schodic Explorer), and over the winter bought 2 from New York.
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Also, I don't believe the T has published the new overall ferry schedules yet, but it's notable that they're using these new boats to split the Quincy and Winthrop routes into independent routes. Also, they're beginning conversations with the MCCA about integrating the Seaport ferries.
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How about Kohler, American Standard and Armitage Shanks? Those buckets are going to look hideous.
 
Stlin said:
I realize the ferries are by far the most overlooked aspect of the MBTA, but with the new operator scheduled to transition over between April 1 and July 1, as far as I can tell outside of the RFP, there hasn't actually been an award to a service provider? As Hornblower is bankrupt, I presume it's unlikely to be a renewal.

It took me a bit of digging - these 3 new boats being named aren't new-new, but used boats that the T has been shopping for recently. No idea where they're funding it from since it's not in the CIP they've been pulling the money from, but last year the T bought a boat from Maine (Schodic Explorer), and over the winter bought 2 from New York.

Also, I don't believe the T has published the new overall ferry schedules yet, but it's notable that they're using these new boats to split the Quincy and Winthrop routes into independent routes. Also, they're beginning conversations with the MCCA about integrating the Seaport ferries.
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Thanks for this - where are these slides from?
 
The EGE said:
Thanks for this - where are these slides from?
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Sometimes, the MBTA Advisory Board modal committees get a more comprehensive presentation from staff on operations than the MBTA Board, particularly since the Advisory Board sets the topics they want to hear about. Conveniently, despite a paucity of views, most recent meetings have been uploaded to YouTube.
 
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