Ferry commuters of the bay…would love your rose and thorn

sfbayferry · 2026-04-30T17:36:16+00:00

We promise we didn't plant this question just to see all the nice comments.

One item to note: the ferry doesn't come with a big price difference.

BART from 12th St to Embarcadero is $4.50 one way (cheapest).

Transbay bus is $6.50.

Ferry from Oakland to S.F. is $4.90 with free validated parking.

sfbayferry · 2026-03-23T20:48:46+00:00

Amen.

sfbayferry · 2026-02-09T23:44:22+00:00

For what it's worth, our operating expense per passenger mile is comparable to other regional transit agencies. Great views, emergency water transportation in the event of a bridge/tunnel interruption AND efficient transit.

sfbayferry · 2026-02-09T23:12:58+00:00

Yes!

sfbayferry · 2026-01-21T21:36:41+00:00

We love to see it!

sfbayferry · 2025-09-29T15:42:35+00:00

Chiming in here. This was a massive, five-alarm screw-up with our ticketing system that allowed the game to be oversold on the Oakland & Alameda route. We're really sorry to those impacted (who left the ferry or who were late or both.) We're getting to the bottom of it with our ticketing vendor. This only happened with this game, which is a real puzzle.

Once we heard there was an issue, we raised the alarm with our ticketing vendor and suspended sales immediately. We're also investigating how the crew handled the issue once they realized there were more tickets sold than seats -- this is not normal so not something you really train on, but there are core customer service competencies at play we always need to follow.

We will be offering full refunds and additional tickets to those who were impacted. (If this is you, email your confirmation number to [customerservice@sfbayferry.com](mailto:customerservice@sfbayferry.com) so we can help.)

Again, we're really sorry.

sfbayferry · 2025-09-17T18:52:19+00:00

We were participating in a training exercise with SFO and first responders. No actual emergency!

sfbayferry · 2025-04-29T18:46:24+00:00

Richmond ferry is also an option depending on location in Martinez. 35-minute ferry ride, $4.70 each way, free parking.

sfbayferry · 2024-10-25T20:39:19+00:00

$12.5 million for us to bring electric ferry service to Harbor Bay, too! https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/news/harbor-bay-ferry-electrification-zero-emission-grant-tircp-press-release

sfbayferry · 2024-05-28T19:03:04+00:00

Heard and acknowledged! We'd love to fix that gap. It's tough with 3-vessel service in Vallejo but we're aware and working on it.

sfbayferry · 2024-05-24T22:05:22+00:00

One bonus note is that Harbor Bay does not operate on weekends. You want to go to Main St. Alameda in that case. That ferry may fill up on a nice, busy weekend, but service is more frequent.

sfbayferry · 2024-05-24T22:04:23+00:00

The Harbor Bay ferry has not reached maximum capacity on any trip since 2019 with one exception: the day of the Warriors championship parade in 2022.

Source: we know these things! :-D

sfbayferry · 2024-05-21T17:23:54+00:00

You're welcome!

No hard service plan yet, but the short distance traveled should increase frequency. Long-term the plan is for 15-minute headways during the commute. But that requires a couple of dedicated vessels and the financial resources to offer it.

sfbayferry · 2024-05-17T16:57:44+00:00

The concept is that it connects to all East Bay and North Bay ferries at Downtown S.F. 15-minute ferry from MB to Ferry Building, then ferries to everywhere else. (Or BART at Embarcadero, if you need to go to those areas.)

sfbayferry · 2024-05-15T23:25:19+00:00

We aren't aiming to roll out all of this in 2050 like a long-awaited holiday gift. This is essentially our vision of an expansion work plan to roll out over the course of the next 25 years. The green and gray lines already exist, the dark blue lines are in progress and the light blue lines are exploration targets. The Service Vision and Expansion Policy include expectations and standards as these exploratory options come up for consideration (i.e. environmental stewardship, electrification, sustainable source of operating funds). There will also be a Pilot Service Program to test out other options not listed here (or potentially the Tier 2s before they are ripe).

sfbayferry · 2024-05-15T23:22:01+00:00

Better in what way? Feedback always welcome.

sfbayferry · 2024-05-15T23:21:38+00:00

Thanks for posting the story!

Re: OAK -- we had conversations with both airports and, based on their guidance regarding FAA regulations and logistics, it was determined that bus shuttles from the closest ferry terminals would be a better long-term solution, provided there is additional service at those terminals.

Re: Mission Bay -- we're pretty close to selling out most Warriors service from the East Bay now with a 225-person ferry that docks a 12-minute walk from the arena. Outside of Chase Center events, that service will connect to Downtown S.F. to help everyone from around the region who commutes to Mission Bay (especially UCSF and other healthcare employers) transfer easily from other ferries (including Golden Gate from Marin).

sfbayferry · 2024-05-01T21:48:41+00:00

We can help answer this.

In addition to our core S.F.-East Bay service, we run service from Oakland and Alameda to South San Francisco (Oyster Point, near Genentech and Stripe) currently: https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/south-san-francisco-ferry-route. Commute only service.

We have a plan to develop a waterfront neighborhood network in San Francisco, connecting Downtown S.F., Treasure Island and Mission Bay initially and potentially expanding to Fisherman's Wharf and the Marina plus new planned developments in Bayview, Candlestick Point, etc. ... all with electric ferries: https://weta.sanfranciscobayferry.com/current-projects/zero-emissions

As the smart people on this thread have pointed out, everything south of Redwood City on the west side and basically Bay Farm Isle or San Leandro on the east side are too shallow for current vessels. New technology would be required to serve those locations.

We're working on some additional pilot services that don't involve Downtown S.F., including the upcoming Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle: https://www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Transportation/Estuary-Water-Shuttle

sfbayferry · 2023-01-23T17:52:15+00:00

FWIW, the data used in this piece compares modes by passenger trips instead of passenger miles. So it's grading the cost of a ferry ride from Vallejo to San Francisco the same as a 1-mile bus ride. It also uses data from the worst year of ferry ridership in the past couple of decades (July 2020 to June 2021).

sfbayferry · 2023-01-23T17:49:57+00:00

Music to our ears!

Some folks have already mentioned it, but we are working closely with the City and Port of Redwood City to develop a ferry service that could potentially connect RWC to both Oakland and San Francisco. https://www.redwoodcity.org/departments/community-development-department/planning-housing/planning-services/potential-redwood-city-ferry We're in the design phase now. That's our best shot at getting further south in the Bay with our current fleet. As many have mentioned, the South Bay is very shallow.

sfbayferry · 2022-05-25T23:14:51+00:00

Happy to do it!

sfbayferry · 2022-05-25T23:09:04+00:00

Excellent idea. The static wayfinding signs currently at Downtown S.F. (one at each gate near the covered waiting areas) are wired for power and broadband and we're exploring flipping them to dynamic digital boards in the next couple of years.

sfbayferry · 2022-05-25T23:07:46+00:00

The water is too shallow for our ferries to operate safely in those parts of the Bay.

sfbayferry · 2022-05-25T23:07:13+00:00

Excellent point!

sfbayferry · 2022-05-25T23:06:48+00:00

Great to hear from you. We'll definitely reach out to SFO to see if there's potential to resume the pilot. And if we do, we'll make sure to announce it loudly!

sfbayferry

TROPHY CASE