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Fast ferry pilot tests New Bedford – Woods Hole
connection around marine science and technology
Ferry links New Bedford, Woods Hole
 By
Steve Urbon
NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES
NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Scott W. Lang called it a "sleigh
ride," an over-in-a-blink transit from State Pier to
Woods Hole to show local media the wonders of a watery
shortcut to the "transportation hub" of Cape Cod.
"We're going to have a lot of fun this morning," he told
the 75 guests, media representatives and crew who rode
free on Monday morning as part of an introductory
promotion.
New Bedford officials launched the trial service on Aug.
13 to see if there's enough interest to resurrect the
ferry route permanently.
Boston-based New England Fast Ferry Co. was the sole
bidder for the twice-a-day service, which will run for
four months.
Transit officials point out that the marine sciences
labs and schools in the two ports are the primary target
of the service, to eliminate the tedious drive across
the Cape Cod Canal and around Buzzards Bay.
Several commuters on board Monday bypassed the highway
ride to Wareham.
Others, hearing about the free tickets, brought their
families for an excursion to the Cape on a perfect
summer morning. For the first two weeks, the trips are
free but starting next week the trip will cost $7 each
way.
"We came for the fun of it," said Mike Powell of
Dartmouth, who was accompanied by his daughter, Sarah,
and grandchildren Natalie and Justin.
Originally from Illinois, Powell said he hadn't yet
explored the area, so he grabbed the chance. Cape
explorers can catch cabs in Woods Hole or take public
transportation to Hyannis, where the ferries run to
Nantucket.
Other passengers Monday, such as UMass-Dartmouth
economics professor Daniel Georgianna, stepped off the
gangplank in Woods Hole to experience how much easier it
will be to do business there, where he holds a
consulting contract with the National Marine Fisheries
Service.
"I try to come out here twice a week, but I can't,
especially in the summer," he said. The drive is simply
too taxing.
The fast ferry, by contrast, whisks passengers from New
Bedford across to Woods Hole in less time than anything
but a helicopter might take.
The speed is the selling point of the New England Fast
Ferry, which is diverting one of its two boats twice a
day from Martha's Vineyard for the run out of New
Bedford. As the summer tourism season winds down, the
Woods Hole route will have its own ferry until
mid-December when the four-month experiment ends. After
that city officials will evaluate the program.
A $75,000 matching grant from the state Executive Office
of Transportation will fund the trial ferry service.
Survey specialists are being used during the test period
to interview passengers to see what they like about the
service and what they would change.
Thomas Lanagan of Mattapoisett, a student at the
University of Vermont who also works at the Alvin group,
of ocean submersibles fame, in Woods Hole, lamented "all
the gas going back and forth" around Buzzards Bay by
land, and was happy with the ferry. But he would like to
see one change.
"I get off of work at four or five in the afternoon," he
said. But the evening run back to New Bedford isn't
until after 7 p.m.
That could change, however, said Kristin Decas,
executive director of the Harbor Development Commission.
When the summer tourism season slows down, the ferry
service may be able to adjust the trip times and may
even add a midday round-trip if there's a demand, she
said.
Contact Steve Urbon at surbon@s-t.com.
August 23, 2007 |
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