Bay Ferry Adds Service During BART Strike, City Eases Parking Rules

San Francisco Bay Ferry will beef up service to and from Alameda during the BARt strike, and the City of Alameda will relax parking rules near the ferry terminals. See details from both agencies below.

From a City of Alameda announcement:

The City of Alameda has plans to help minimize commuter traffic congestion that include:

• Free valet bicycle parking at the Main Street ferry terminal
• A Main Street ferry shuttle that will loop the west end of town
• Satellite parking at the golf course with shuttle service to Harbor Bay ferry terminal
• A Harbor Bay ferry shuttle that will loop Bay Farm Island
• Alameda Police will relax parking enforcement near both ferry terminals, EXCEPT for flagrant violations such as the blocking of driveways, sidewalks, handicap parking or fire hydrants

For details, check the City’s website: http://alamedaca.gov/public-works/bart-strike

- See more at: http://alamedaca.gov/public-works/news/2013/10/08/alameda-prepares-october-bart-strike#sthash.yY9Zhm...

From a San Franciso Bay Ferry press release: 

With the announcement that the BART Strike is on, the SF Bay Ferry has implemented increased service on most routes. Enhanced service will begin with a 5 a.m. Vallejo departure to San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 18. See www.sanfranciscobayferry.com for all BART strike schedules. 

• The BART strike service schedules will be in effect until BART formally announces the strike is called off.
• If a partial day mid-day strike occurs, San Francisco Bay Ferry will operate its strike schedule for the whole day and will return to its regular schedule the next morning.

• Weekend BART strike service will be provided to/from the Vallejo, Oakland, San Francisco and Alameda Main Street terminals. 

• SF Bay Ferry will have 12 boats (as opposed to eight on a regular weekday) in service, including two on loan from Golden Gate Ferry. Adding an additional landing at Golden Gate Ferry’s San Francisco Ferry Building facility will also help to reduce dock congestion and enable the service to carry more passengers.

• The additional boats and departures will enable the SF Bay Ferry to carry between 19,000 and 20,000 passengers per week day as opposed to an average of 6,000 per week day.

• SF Bay Ferry will be adding new departure times to the previous July BART strike schedule, with earlier departures from Alameda Main Street, Harbor Bay, Oakland Jack London Square and Vallejo terminals, and later departures from the Ferry Building to Alameda Main Street and Oakland. These enhancements will allow SF Bay Ferry to more effectively and efficiently serve the public with the available resources. 

    WHAT SF BAY FERRY PASSENGERS NEED TO KNOW

• Weekday service
  • Expanded to/from the Oakland, Alameda Main Street, Harbor Bay, Vallejo and San Francisco terminals. Regular schedule in effect on South San Francisco/ East Bay route.
  • No service to/from Pier 41 during peak morning and afternoon commute periods. There is Pier 41 service during midday.

• Weekend service
  • Expanded schedule between Alameda Main Street, Oakland and San Francisco.  
  • Regular weekend schedule in effect between Vallejo and San Francisco.  
  • Riders on all routes, with the exception of Vallejo, are encouraged to use Clipper cards pre-loaded with E-Cash for ticketing.
  • Additional Customer Service representatives will be present at most terminals to answer questions and assist passengers, and directional signage will be enhanced. Due to the anticipated significant increase in passengers, lines to purchase tickets and board the boats will be longer than usual.
  • Follow SF Bay Ferry on Twitter at @SFBayferry.
  • Parking is very limited, and there is a charge for parking at the Oakland, San Francisco, and Vallejo ferry terminals. Check sanfranciscobayferry.com for parking details for your terminal. The SF Bay Ferry is also asking all passengers to be respectful when parking in and around residential areas. 
  • SF Bay Ferry boats do accommodate bikes but there are restrictions on bicycles if capacity is exceeded. This is a safety issue. If possible, we encourage riders to look into Bay Area Bike Share www.bayareabikeshare.com.
  • Please be patient. SF Bay Ferry pledges to do all it can to provide additional service. We appreciate your cooperation until the strike is resolved.

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