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The Biden administration will provide $220 million in grants to modernize the country’s ferry systems.
ByThe Associated Press
November 30, 2023, 3:07 p.m.
A San Francisco Bay ferry carrying Federal Transit Administration Administrator Nuria Fernandez heads toward Oakland in front of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — The Biden administration will provide $220 million in grants to modernize the nation’s ferry systems, officials announced Thursday.
The grant program will focus on expanding ferry service in rural communities, helping them purchase modern ferries, including electric boats, and improving coastal infrastructure to support low-emission ferry service, officials said.
Twelve ferry operators in the U.S. territory of Somoa and the states of California, Washington, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina will receive grants, said Nuria Fernández, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.
The grants “will help transit agencies across the country purchase and modernize vessels, upgrade terminals and modernize equipment,” he said during a news conference at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority and the Golden Gate Ferry will receive about $22 million to modernize two of their existing ferry floats in the cities of Alameda and San Francisco and replace the ferry dock in the Sausalito ferry terminal.
The New York City Department of Transportation will receive nearly $7.5 million to build coastal terminal infrastructure to quickly load vessels serving Governors Island, which is only accessible by ferry. The new charging system will reduce emissions, lower maintenance costs and improve reliability for passengers, officials said.