San Francisco Bay Ferry's temporarily discounted fares are (mostly) here to stay.
After slashing fares 30% across the system two years ago as part of its pandemic recovery program, the SF Bay Ferry on Monday said those discounted fares will only incrementally increase over the next five years.Â
Beginning on July 1, regular service fares will increase a total of 3% over current levels. But fares on some routes are as much as $2 fewer than they were in 2020.Â
The Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) said there will be small price increases over the next five years to "keep pace with comparable transit operators," basing those increases on historical inflation data.Â
While a handful of Bay Area transit agencies face choppy waters, the ferry is coming off its best month since February 2020. The ferry carried roughly 196,000 passengers across the Bay in May, roughly 71% of May 2019 levels.Â
Thomas Hall, WETA's public information officer, credited federal relief funds and a ballot measure with bringing the agency back from the brink of a fiscal cliff that could imperil others in the coming months.Â
WETA's 2022 passenger survey showed a 99% satisfaction rate among passengers, its highest ever. Forty-two percent of those surveyed were new riders who didn't travel by water prior to the pandemic.Â
The reduced fares that brought new riders aboard are largely intact.
Zone one routes — Alameda, Harbor Bay, Oakland/Alameda and Richmond — will cost $4.60. The Richmond route cost as much as $7.00 in 2020, before all four routes all cost $4.50 last year.Â
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Zone two, which provides service to San Francisco, would cost $7.00, up from $6.75 last year and down from $8.10 in 2020. Fares in zone three, which only includes Vallejo, are set to cost $9.30, after costing $9 last year and $11.30 in 2020.
Zone two provides service to South San Francisco, with a standard fare costing $7.00. Zone three comprises solely of Vallejo and fares will cost $9.30.Â
Youth, senior, disabled and Clipper START passengers still pay half-price. Pier 41 and Alameda short hop fares are still $1 or 50 cents, depending upon the rider.
Half-off discounts will continue being given for youth, senior, disabled, or Clipper START passengers. Fares on the Pier 41 Short Hop and the Alameda Short Hop remain unchanged.Â
The most expensive changes, however, are happening aboard ferries heading to San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors games. Â
Beginning July 1, reserved tickets connecting Oakland and Alameda to Oracle Park and Chase Center, respectively, will cost $10.50 each way. Those tickets, as of this writing, cost $9.60 for each leg.Â
Reserved tickets connecting to Vallejo to Oracle Park will cost $18.25 each way next month, up from the current rate $15.90.
Beginning next year, the event prices will increase 3% alongside the regular fares.Â
