Massachusetts Ferry Transportation Compact

Transcription

1 Massachusetts Ferry Compact Compact Membership Meeting June 25, :30 AM Steamship Hyannis Terminal 69 South Street Hyannis, Massachusetts Ferry Compact Members: Name Clinton Bench Louis Elisa Janeen Hansen Josh Katz Wayne Lamson Bob Fultz Jeff Stieb (by phone) Kathy Winn (by phone) Members of the Public who signed in: Name Ron Bourne Ellen Cebula Annette Demchur Mike Driscoll Tom Humphrey Kevin P. Mooney Attendance Affiliation MassDOT Office of Planning Seaport Advisory Council The Massachusetts Port (Massport) Joint Committee on Woods Hole, Martha s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship Town of Hull City of New Bedford City of Salem Affiliation Bourne Consulting Seaport Advisory Council Central Planning Staff Division of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) Waterways Central Planning Staff DCR Waterways Massachusetts Department of Staff: Paul Nelson Office of Planning MassDOT Office of Planning -1- June 25, 2014

2 Meeting Summary The meeting began with a welcome from Clinton Bench, the Deputy Director of the MassDOT Office of Planning. The compact members then introduced themselves, followed by the members of the audience. Opening Remarks Clinton Bench welcomed everyone to the Steamship s Hyannis Terminal and thanked Wayne Lamson for hosting the meeting. Clinton informed the compact that the City of Lynn started running passenger ferry service to Boston in May The city is currently running two round trips in the morning and two trips in the afternoon. Clinton stated that at the federal level the biggest news is the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Without action from the U.S. Congress the federal government will soon be decreasing the reimbursement starting at 60% of funds and eventually removing the reimbursement. Bob Fultz announced that the (MBTA) has extended weekend service to Hingham and Hull. MAP-21 Grant Program Update Paul Nelson announced that on June 2, 2014 the U.S. Department of announced the award of $60 million in competitive funds for 26 projects in 13 states and Puerto Rico through the Federal Transit Administration s (FTA) Passenger Ferry Grant Program. All three projects submitted by the Massachusetts Ferry Compact were awarded. The grant award information is summarized below. FTA Passenger Ferry Grant Program Awards in Massachusetts Recipient Project Description Amount Awarded The (MBTA) will receive funding to replace a twin engine and obsolete steering control equipment on the "Lightning" high speed catamaran ferry, which provides commuter ferry service between Quincy, Hull, Boston and Logan International Airport. $904,000 The (MBTA) will receive funding to construct an inner harbor water taxi docking facility to be built in conjunction with a new ferry wharf and terminal building redevelopment project (including office and residential space) currently under construction at Lovejoy Wharf, adjacent to the North Station intermodal transit hub in downtown Boston. $600,000 MassDOT Office of Planning -2- June 25, 2014

3 The (MBTA) will receive funding to upgrade the Pemberton Pier ferry terminal located in Hull, Massachusetts, to improve commuter ferry service between Quincy, Hull, Boston and Logan International Airport. $196,542 In addition to the FTA Passenger Ferry Grants, U.S. DOT also announced full funding of the Federal Highway Administration s (FHWA) Ferry Boat Formula Program, which is providing $63.5 million to 114 operators in 37 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The two eligible recipients in Massachusetts, the Steamship and the MBTA, will receive over $1.2 million. A member of the Ferry Compact asked what the Steamship intended to do with the funding they received through the Ferry Boat Formula Program. Wayne Lamson responded that the intends to use the funds to upgrade their maintenance facility in Fairhaven. Update on the CTPS Technical Services Contract Tom Humphrey from the Central Planning Staff presented the findings of the draft Ferry System Trends (Task 1.2 of the technical services contract) and the Ferry Demand Estimation (Task 1.3 of the technical services contract). The Ferry System Trends document includes information on ferry services with similar attributes to the Massachusetts system, primarily in Seattle, San Francisco and New York City. The Ferry Demand Estimation document includes information on the methods used to estimate the ridership on potential new ferry services. Most methods are similar to those used to estimate transit system ridership. Clinton Bench asked if the documents would include a recommended approach to travel demand estimation. Tom Humphrey responded that the techniques were pretty much the same procedure as existing transit. Although he added it is important to identify if ferry is the best service, meaning if it would it be time competitive. Clinton suggested that the final reports discuss the different factors influencing the demand estimation technique that should be used. It should also include some way to account for the draw of ferry service as a premium transportation mode. Janeen Hansen asked if Tom had found if there is walkability quotient for ferry facilities, if there was a standard walking distance to a ferry facility. Tom replied that there was no clear consensus but that it would probably be similar to the radius used for other transit services. Louis Elisa asked if any comparison was made on how the cost of tolls influenced ferry ridership. Tom replied that there had been some work done in New York City, but that overall the experience there is on a larger scale and therefore not a good model to follow for other ferry services. Louis followed up by asking if there was a congestion factor that influenced ferry ridership. Tom responded that the fares on the ferries in New York City are more expensive because it is such a high cost area. MassDOT Office of Planning -3- June 25, 2014

4 Clinton Bench suggested that when the analysis of potential new routes is conducted it should balance cost & travel time. He added that it might be hard to apply the CTPS travel demand model to ferry boat ridership due to its large scale. Louis Elisa added that it is important that any travel demand model is built correctly. Clinton stated that the CTPS travel demand model is currently being updated to reflect the results of a comprehensive household travel survey across the Commonwealth. Louis Elisa stated that an environmental piece also needs to be incorporated into the evaluation of ferry services. Tom Humphrey responded that it would, but that the results may be mixed due to the fact that high-speed ferries are not very fuel efficient. Bob Fultz asked if there are many examples of how midday excursion trips can help make commuter service by private operators successful. Tom responded that Chicago a potential example where there are water taxis that conduct a mix of business. He also pointed to the commuter service out of Tiburon, California which is operated by the private Blue & Gold fleet. Ron Bourne stated that it is crucial for private operators to keep their boats moving to maximize the return on their assets. He stated that any plan to utilize privately-owned vessels will need to recognize that but that use of publicly-owned vessels may not. He added that when trying to estimate ridership, there are several different factors that must be considered. There are a percentage of people who will ride, but it is small. He added that people also don t like to change modes of transportation. A further complication is that having a dispersed origin/destination pattern makes it hard to get ridership. Finally, he stated that it would be a good idea to have a second look at any estimates developed, especially by private operators, to certify their accuracy. Tom Humphrey added that the excursion market also has a saturation point. Bob Fultz asked if Boston Harbor Cruises uses the commuter vessels for excursion trips. Tom replied that they are mainly separate businesses. Louis Elisa asked how the Salem ferry service would be classified. Tom responded that it would be classified mostly as a tourist-oriented service. Bob Fultz asked if the Salem service is subsidized. Louis Elisa responded that public funds were used to build the terminal and for part of the vessel purchase. Janeen Hansen asked if there was any example of real estate developers funding ferry services. Tom responded that most of the services from New Jersey to Manhattan were initiated by real estate developers. Bob Fultz added that the Town of Hull is working to institute a fee in lieu of service where developers would help support the ferry service instead of providing it directly. Other Business Paul Nelson stated that following the completion of Tasks 1.2 and 1.3, CTPS was scoped to provide additional technical documents as requested by the Ferry Compact. He pointed out that the next two tasks originally identified are: Task To analyze the benefits and impacts of Ferry Service on Host Communities, and Task 2.2 Analyze the Massachusetts Ferry System for any Unmet Ferry Travel MassDOT Office of Planning -4- June 25, 2014

5 Demand. He asked the Compact members for feedback if these two tasks still had value. There was general agreement from the Compact members that these tasks should be pursued. Kevin Mooney stated that service within Cape Cod Bay should be included in Task 2.2 as DCR has started looking at service from Quincy and Plymouth to Barnstable and other points on Cape Cod. He stated that this service is envisioned as a business-subsidized service for their workers to access Cape Cod jobs now that occupancy rates have been enforced. He pointed out that such a service would require off-hours operation. Louis Elisa added that the analysis should also incorporate the impact of the CapeFLYER train service. Ellen Cebula added that there was a Historic Ports Study that accomplished many of the components that would be included in these tasks. Paul Nelson asked her to provide a copy of the study so it could be distributed to the Compact. The Compact agreed that the next meeting should include the following agenda items: - What happened to the other projects not selected for FTA funding - How are subsidies administered for other ferry services? - How do we strengthen bicycle connections to the ferry facilities? - Outline of approach to CTPS technical services tasks 2.1 and 2.2 It was determined that the next meeting of the Ferry Compact would be in early September, location TBD, but likely in Boston. The meeting concluded at 12:30 PM. MassDOT Office of Planning -5- June 25, 2014