North Island ferry service to end

Author Message   Danny Hamilton Senior Member Username: Dannyhamilton Post Number: 533 Registered: 03-2004 Posted From: 68.225.115.15 Posted on Saturday, January 09, 2010 - 09:25 pm:    Well, that is a real bummer! It was great using that "little known" resource to get from NAS North Island to downtown San Diego and back for FREE. I will certainly miss that ferry.   Edgar Inocentes Senior Member Username: Traveler88 Post Number: 445 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 76.88.109.248 Posted on Saturday, January 09, 2010 - 07:12 pm:    North Island ferry service to end By Janine Zuniga ( The San Diego Union Tribune, Jan 8, 2010) Sailors and civilian Navy employees who commute across San Diego Bay via a free ferry will take their last rides to North Island Naval Air Station next week. Citing security and funding issues, the Navy announced service to the base would end Jan 15. The base’s commander, Capt. Yancy Lindsey, canceled the service because the “ferry’s access posed an unnecessary risk, especially when you consider the proximity to the (aircraft) carriers,” said Brian O’Rourke, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. Although the Navy doesn’t contribute directly to the ferry’s operating cost, O’Rourke said the ferry service required two security personnel to meet the boat and check passenger’s identification. Commuters who work at the base have been riding the ferry for free under a state program started in 1999. The city manages the program. Riders who need to get to the base can still use the free service from San Diego’s Broadway Pier to the Coronado ferry landing about a mile from the air station’s main entrance “funding for the service has not gone away and we are committed to continue providing the service except for that route to the Navy base,” Coronado City Manager Mark Ochenduszko said. The service costs $152,000, according to the city’s contract. The Navy said about 125 people a day use the service, 45-50 more when an extra carrier is in port. Commuter ridership on the ferry service between San Diego and Coronado ranges from 5,000 to 9,000 trips per month, depending on the time of the year, Coronado officials said. North Island is home to the aircraft carriers Nimitz and Ronald Reagan, several aviation squadrons and an aircraft carrier repair depot. A third carrier, the Carl Vinzon, is scheduled to arrive in the spring. O’Rourke said workers who have used the ferries to commute to North Island are encouraged to use van pools or the Metropolitan Transit District’s 901 bus, which stops at the main gate.