Use of Ferry for Transit

[FlaBoy]

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2017/04/05/heres-how-the-cross-bay-ferry-is-performing-close.html?ana=twt

Tampa and St. Pete seem to be having a lot of success with their new cross-bay ferry service.

Is there anything that makes sense for Jax?

[TimmyB]

I can't see a whole lot of "from" and "to" destinations, personally.  When we were in Brisbane a decade ago, they had a whole fleet of catamarans ("CityCats") that ran up and down the river, just like buses.  However, they had SO many places right on the river.  A local university, downtown, the convention center, etc.  It actually made sense, for them.  While I think it would be cool, I am just not visualizing all the places that would make it viable.

[Steve]

Ferries for Transit tend to work in areas that just don't make sense for a bridge/tunnel. Some examples:

- Staten Island Ferry (connecting Staten Island with Battery Park in Manhattan)
- Seattle Ferries (connecting Bainbridge/Bremerton with Seattle)
- Boston Commuter Ferries (connecting Hingham and Hull to Boston

In all three cases, a bridge/tunnel or some sort of land connection is either impractical or is a long way out of the way. It isn't used to supplement a parallel highway. There was a JTA study on a ferry from Clay County to downtown, but that died as far as I know.

Locally, the Mayport Ferry used to be used much more by commuters, before the Dames Point bridge was built. Now I imagine there are people that do commute that distance, but I have to imagine they're few and far between as Atlantic Blvd/295/Dames Point/Heckscher all flow pretty well even during rush hour (At least well enough that the time to load a boat and cross the river isn't worth it).

[spuwho]

The most logical would be Green Cove to the Northbank.

I just don't think there is enough demand to warrant it.

Besides, ferry makers/operators typically dont bribe or entice politicos to build ferry routes because they dont support the requisite association of gas stations, Arbys, McD's, developers, warehouses, big box strip malls that our fearless leaders are used to seeing when building the alternatives.

[fsujax]

JTA did a pretty extensive water transit ferry study back in 2007-2008. It may still be on their website. Not sure.

[Jim]

You need multiple high density destinations along the river without easy vehicular access for ferry's to become a valid transportation system.

[thelakelander]

You need multiple high density destinations along the river without easy vehicular access for ferry's to become a valid transportation system.

^This!

The Tampa/St. Pete situation and Jax's landscape are apples and oranges, IMO. Down there, they're directly linking two major downtown districts (both of which have more active downtown waterfronts than Jax's) with a 50 minute ride across the Bay, while also partnering up with the local MLB and NHL franchises to promote.  Their ferry appears to be used by tourist and special event guests moreso than everyday commuting. In Jax, what exactly would be the other terminus spot outside of DT Jax and what destinations do we have (outside of the CBD) that could possibly partner up to promote ticket sales?

[FlaBoy]

Maybe St. Augustine and Jax Beach (around Beach Blvd) via the Intercoastal to St. Johns River to DT? It probably doesn't make sense now but you never know in the future.

[thelakelander]

Why not just run a bus in the short term and advocate for a St. Augustine stop for intercity rail (Ex. Brightline or Amtrak) in the long term?  There's no real economic benefit out there for running a boat from DT to Jax Beach and St. Augustine.

[Todd_Parker]

You need multiple high density destinations along the river without easy vehicular access for ferry's to become a valid transportation system.

^This!

The Tampa/St. Pete situation and Jax's landscape are apples and oranges, IMO. Down there, they're directly linking two major downtown districts (both of which have more active downtown waterfronts than Jax's) with a 50 minute ride across the Bay, while also partnering up with the local MLB and NHL franchises to promote.  Their ferry appears to be used by tourist and special event guests moreso than everyday commuting. In Jax, what exactly would be the other terminus spot outside of DT Jax and what destinations do we have (outside of the CBD) that could possibly partner up to promote ticket sales?

Isn't the river taxi providing this service already?

[thelakelander]

A ferry and a water taxi are two different things.  DT Tampa also has a water taxi service in addition to the pilot ferry project. However, their urban landscape is completely different from Jax's.

[Jim]

Maybe St. Augustine and Jax Beach (around Beach Blvd) via the Intercoastal to St. Johns River to DT? It probably doesn't make sense now but you never know in the future.

Trip times would be insane.

The 20 mile jaunt between St Pete and Tampa is 20 miles and takes ~50 minutes.

Jax DT to Beach Blvd Intracoastal is well more than 20 miles and to St Aug would easily surpass 50 miles.

[tufsu1]

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2017/04/05/heres-how-the-cross-bay-ferry-is-performing-close.html?ana=twt

Tampa and St. Pete seem to be having a lot of success with their new cross-bay ferry service.

Interesting perspective.  Not sure I agree.

[Adam White]

Maybe St. Augustine and Jax Beach (around Beach Blvd) via the Intercoastal to St. Johns River to DT? It probably doesn't make sense now but you never know in the future.

Trip times would be insane.

The 20 mile jaunt between St Pete and Tampa is 20 miles and takes ~50 minutes.

Jax DT to Beach Blvd Intracoastal is well more than 20 miles and to St Aug would easily surpass 50 miles.

Just curious - how long does the Tampa - St Pete trip take by car? I lived in Tampa for 6 months over 15 years ago, so I can't recall. I seem to remember the trip to downtown St Pete taking less than an hour from my apartment in Hyde Park. But I didn't make the trip very often.

[thelakelander]

If it's not rush hour, maybe 20 to 25 minutes or so. Btw, their pilot ferry isn't being used for commuting. The numbers also aren't that high.