EXPANDED DOWNTOWN S.F. FERRY TERMINAL OPENS
WETA’s long-awaited, beautiful Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal expansion was officially completed and opened to the public in mid-August. The expansion triples WETA’s San Francisco Bay Ferry capacity in the city core, creates resilient infrastructure for emergency response activities and provides the public with a grand new open space on the San Francisco waterfront.

New and refurbished ferry gates had previously opened. The 13,000-square-foot plaza opened to the public for the first time on August 12.

The expanded Downtown S.F. terminal is a capstone on a decade of deep, serious investment by WETA in the regional ferry system and the platform for the next era of growing water transit. You can learn more about project and see photos at sfbf.mobi/downtown.

Below is the video press release featuring footage of the site as well as remarks from San Francisco Mayor London Breed, WETA Chair Jim Wunderman, Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember David Chiu and more.
AN UPDATE ON SEAPLANE SHIFT
You probably know about Seaplane Shift, WETA’s planned transformation of Alameda and Oakland commute ferry services to expand capacity and provide more timely service for residents of both cities. Seaplane Shift has been scheduled to launch in August 2020. As with so many things, the COVID-19 crisis disrupted these plans.

We do not have a date for the launch of the Alameda Seaplane route. We are closely monitoring ferry ridership and overall Bay Area transportation demand.

Based on our COVID-19 recovery service planning, we intend to launch the Alameda Seaplane route once substantial demand begins to return on existing ferry service out of the Alameda Main Street and Oakland ferry terminals, where we are currently offering limited weekday commute service. Ridership on that Alameda/Oakland route has declined since June as the region continues to experience high levels of COVID-19 cases and local communities delayed planned phases of re-opening.

You can find more information, including updated maps of the new Alameda Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal, at seaplaneshift.com.
TRANSIT OPERATORS RELEASE JOINT HEALTH PLAN
In face of the COVID-19 crisis, the Bay Area’s two dozen transit agencies have been working closer together than ever before. The transit operators in the nine Bay Area counties have joined forces to initiate research, study U.S. and international efforts, and review information from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), to develop common commitments and expectations for employees and passengers in our Bay Area transit systems. From this work, we developed “Riding Together—Bay Area Healthy Transit Plan.” Development of our plan has additionally included collaboration with regional leaders, transit workers, paratransit providers, rider advocates, public health experts, and others.

You can find the full plan at http://healthytransitplan.com/. This plan complements but does not replace WETA’s Passenger and Crew Safety Plan. Policies described in WETA’s plan will remain in force on San Francisco Bay Ferry service.
FERRY TALES
Vincent has been riding San Francisco Bay Ferry for three years. He enjoys the spectacular views that his commute has to offer and the fact he's guaranteed a seat every trip. Watch Vincent's full Ferry Tale above.