San Francisco Ferry Launches New Commuter Line

A new commuter route from Richmond to San Francisco marks the first in a series of expansions for the San Francisco Bay Ferry.

Promising an alternative to "the harrowing Interstate 80 grind from Hercules all the way down to the Bay Bridge," the new route is expected to eventually transport about 1,800 commuters from Richmond to San Francisco.

The number of commuters taking ferries has doubled in the past six years, Erin Baldessari notes in Mercury News. The ferry system is growing, too: "There are plans to vastly expand the ferry network by growing the landings during peak-commute hours from five to 25 by 2040 and quadrupling the number of passengers — which actually might make a meaningful dent in traffic," Baldessari reports.