Unlike the nearby Bay Bridge that was built to accommodate the Key System streetcars, the Golden Gate displaced existing ferry service. Carl Nolte, the Chronicle's historian, provides the background for the 40th anniversary of its ferry service.
When the 6-county bridge district was set up, it was authorized to run only the bridge, which opened in 1937. It took an act of the state legislature to allow it to run its two transit systems -buses and ferries.
"The Golden Gate Bridge had driven the earlier San Francisco-Marin ferries out of business, and for 29 years the bridge was the only way to get from San Francisco to Sausalito.
But by the late '60s, the bridge was at capacity and consultants hired by the district recommended ferries as a short-term solution. The long-term answer, they said, was rail rapid transit under the bay to Marin.
A ferry system, the consultants said, would carry 8,000 to 11,000 daily passengers and would pay its own way.
That turned out to be a ferry tale...In the last fiscal year, the Golden Gate's Sausalito and Larkspur boats combined carried an average weekday load of 6,161 passengers. The ferries never came close to breaking even; the difference is made up by bridge tolls."
Thanks to Gladwyn d'Souza
FULL STORY: After 40 years, ferries thriving on S.F. Bay

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

DOT Memo Directs Transportation Funding to Communities With Higher Marriage and Birth Rates, Compliance with Immigration Officials and No Mask Mandates
The memo ties immigration enforcement to federal funding and prohibits mask or vaccine mandates.

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

BLM Approves Controversial Oil and Gas Leases on Navajo Land
The parcels are located near a sensitive archaeological site, but some Indigenous leaders approve of the move, which will bring in millions in revenue.

Hong Kong Cab Hailing App Folds — and Uber Takes Over
HKTaxi launched a year before Uber came to town. Now, it’s shutting down. Lawmakers worry a monopoly looms.

Rural Homelessness Could Be Vastly Underestimated, Study Finds
The annual ‘point in time’ count fails to capture the diverse types of situations experienced by unhoused people in rural communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Standridge Inc.
City of Brookings
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service