Water Transportation in and around Boston

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

 
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.
1000039786.jpg
1000039720.jpg
1000039766.jpg
1000039784.jpg
1000039746.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 1000039782.jpg
    1000039782.jpg
    550.8 KB · Views: 46

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.
 

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.
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
 
"Economic development" / "tourism"?
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
 
You are too much. If there was a water shuttle from Hartford to the beach, you'd love it
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:
 

Back
Top