Water Transportation in and around Boston

Guess we need a few good old fashioned ship wrecks to go along with the plane crashes.

USCG District 1 Navigation Beacon Removal Interactive Map

Explore an interactive map of proposed U.S. Coast Guard navigational marker removals for District 1. View approximate locations, learn about the changes, and find out how to submit public comments. Not for navigation.
uscg-marker-removals.webflow.io
 
The MBTA Board today re-awarded the bulk of the ferry contract to Boston Harbor Cruises, at approximately an 18% cost increase compared to the existing contract. Additionally, there's apparently a new MassDOT water transportation study underway that I haven't heard much about and an effort to centralize MBTA boat operations at Long Wharf. While unfunded by the MBTA and likely lead by collaboration on the coastal resiliency work, it honestly looks quite good - depending on the T's resource priorities of course, it appears worth pursuing.
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Merrimack Valley prepares to launch New England's first zero emission passenger ferries

Merrimack Valley Transit, or MeVa, says it plans to launch its first-ever zero emission ferries next year — a green plan being eyed by other local and national transit agencies.
www.wgbh.org

The ferries are expected to complete a river trip from Haverhill to Newburyport in just over an hour, he said. This trip can take as little as half an hour driving on I-495, but that highway is frequently badly congested.
 
#bancars said:

Merrimack Valley prepares to launch New England's first zero emission passenger ferries

Merrimack Valley Transit, or MeVa, says it plans to launch its first-ever zero emission ferries next year — a green plan being eyed by other local and national transit agencies.
www.wgbh.org

The ferries are expected to complete a river trip from Haverhill to Newburyport in just over an hour, he said. This trip can take as little as half an hour driving on I-495, but that highway is frequently badly congested.
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MEVA bus #11 does Lawrence-Haverhill-Newburyport on limited-stop schedule in an hour on-the-button every hour without touching 495. Who is this ferry even for?
 
The Merrimack River was once heavily polluted. It still has a ways to go but it is encouraging to see towns now upgrading their riverfront. The shuttle seems like a relatively inexpensive trial balloon and a very cool way to get to Newburyport and the beach. It would be wicked cool if it could drop you off directly onto Salisbury Beach State Park
 
#bancars said:
"Economic development" / "tourism"?
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What economic development are you going to get with a mode that takes at least twice as long as the current mode to make the same trip, at 1/3 or less the capacity of the current mode, at a mere fraction of the frequency of the current mode? I get that water transportation has a sort of ride-quality zen that other modes don't have, but is that even close to worth it when it's going to take that much more time at that many fewer reps to perform the same function? Wouldn't spending $4.2M in grant money to double the frequencies of Route #11 to half-hourly and tart up its associated stop infrastructure be worth a whole lot more in "economic development" than a complete novelty? Our Gateway cities don't exactly have the luxury of being choosy with their transit improvement funding priorities. Fast, frequent, and scalable has to take priority. That means chase the better bus route before veering off into boutique toys.
 
You are too much. If there was a water shuttle from Hartford to the beach, you'd love it
 
Scott said:
You are too much. If there was a water shuttle from Hartford to the beach, you'd love it
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It's not going to the beach. It's going to the dock right next to the Route 1 bridge in downtown Newburyport. You have to transfer to the bus to get to the beach.

Why are you even taking a ferry to avoid the bus when you still have to take the bus? :rolleyes:
 

Frustrated East Boston commuters wait in long lines for ferry during Blue Line closure

The MBTA Blue Line trains from Bowdoin to Orient Heights are shut down for maintenance work through June 15.
www.cbsnews.com
In response to the heavy demand, the MBTA added 12 more trips during weekdays, and 23 on the weekends. The morning pickup time has been extended, and as of June 11, the evening schedule has been extended by an hour.

The MBTA also added an extra 550-person vessel during rush hour. It made three trips Wednesday morning which helped to accommodate the huge influx.

The MBTA said the Eastie to Long Wharf ferry had 1,585 passengers from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Wednesday. They only had 50 passengers between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. a week prior.
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themissinglink said:

Frustrated East Boston commuters wait in long lines for ferry during Blue Line closure

The MBTA Blue Line trains from Bowdoin to Orient Heights are shut down for maintenance work through June 15.
www.cbsnews.com
Click to expand...
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Can confirm, literally hundreds of people in line this afternoon, had to wait for two boats (~30 minutes) to get on, but still that beats the absolute chaos of the shuttles this week.

I caught the big boat earlier this week and while the capacity is nice, it simply isn't designed for quick turn commute use. It took over 5 minutes to dock, get the lines on, and get the ramp set up. Probably some amount of unfamiliarity from the operator but still, then combined 150+ people boarding through a single narrow entrance, it's just not a committing boat. Desperately need some more bow loading boats.
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