San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), is a government entity created by the California state legislature in 2007 by Senate Bill 976. The organization was formerly the San Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority (WTA), which the legislature established in 1999. [http://www.watertransit.org/about_us.shtml About Us] , WTA website, retrieved August 5, 2007] The WTA declared its mission statement as creating, "A Strategy to Improve Public Transit with an Environmentally Friendly Ferry System", for the San Francisco Bay and this was codified by Senate Bill 915. WTA planned to create 8 new ferry routes with up to 31 new vessels that would exceed the EPA emission standards by 85%. Another goal for the new ferry network was to triple ridership to 12 million passenger trips annually from the current 4 million and to attract the bulk of these new transit passengers from cars. WETA is intended to continue and expand WTA's mission, the first step of which being to acquire all San Francisco Bay commuter ferry service except the Golden Gate Ferry. [" [http://www.baycrossings.com/news_archive_view_next.asp?id=1892&mon=10&yea=2007 Q&A: Emergency Needs Prompt Ferry Changes] ," "San Francisco Bay Crossings" October 2007.]

Projects

WTA has focused on 6 short term projects:

South San Francisco-San Francisco-Alameda, a ferry line connecting South San Francisco with San Francisco and Alameda. The South City terminal will be at the Oyster Point Marina and the others will be the existing terminals: Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco and the Harbor Bay Isle [http://www.watertransit.org/newferryroutes.shtml Map.gif] , WTA ferry routes rap, retrieved August 5, 2007] ferry terminal in Alameda's Bay Farm Island area. Service should begin in late fall 2008. [http://www.watertransit.org/newroutes_overview2.shtml Providing New Transit Options for the Biotech Capital South San Francisco] , WTA, retrieved August 5, 2007]

Berkeley-San Francisco service is currently in the planning stages with initial service to begin in 2011. [http://www.watertransit.org/berkeley_overview.shtml A New Commute Option for Berkeley/Albany] , WTA, retrieved August 5, 2007] Several sites for the terminal have been considered including the Albany Bulb, the shoreline near Gilman Street, and several points at the Berkeley Marina.

A new ferry service from Richmond is planned for 2008. The new ferry will take only half an hour to San Francisco and will use the existing terminal and parking facilities at Ford Point. [ [http://www.watertransit.org/richmond_overview.shtml Water Transit Authority ] ] Recently most of the city council except Tom Butt and Mayor McLaughlin have lost interest in the project instead supporting using the site for expanded Toyota vehicle importation parking which that company has expressed an interest in. [ [http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=06-03-05&storyID=21524 Berkeley Daily Planet ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.watertransit.org/ Official website]
* [http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_976&sess=CUR&house=B&author=torlakson SB 976: San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority]