S.F.Angel Island ferry may get new operator
After months of uncertainty over its future, direct ferry service from San Francisco to the Bay Area’s largest island could be here to stay.
Ferry service from the city to Angel Island has been in jeopardy since September, when the private company responsible for operating ferries to the National Historic Landmark told the California Public Utilities Commission it planned to stop soon due to years of declining revenue.
A longterm solution is in the works.
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District confirmed to The Chronicle Tuesday morning that it is in discussions with the California Department of Parks and Recreation about taking over San Francisco ferry service from the privately operated Blue & Gold Fleet.
Paolo CosulichSchwartz, spokesperson for the Golden Gate district, said Tuesday that the district is in talks with the state parks department to reach an agreement that would allow Golden Gate ferries to use the island’s landing. The Golden Gate district could begin service within a week of reaching an agreement with the state, which could happen within a couple of weeks, CosulichSchwartz said.
“We very much look forward to reaching that agreement to begin the service and continue a vital connection to Angel Island for our community,” CosulichSchwartz said.
Details about fares and service were not immediately available pending discussions. But the development comes as members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors introduced a resolution Tuesday afternoon urging the Golden Gate transit district and the state PUC to find a way to maintain ferry service from San Francisco.
From 1910 to 1940, the Angel Island Immigration Station detained and processed an estimated 1 million immigrants, including 250,000 Chinese immigrants, according to the U.S. National Park Service, garnering it a reputation by many as the “Ellis Island of the West.” But the experience for Angel Island immigrants was less welcoming than those at Ellis Island: Hundreds of thousands of them were subjected to long interrogations and detainment under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
“To build a more just future, we have to contend with the injustices of our past,” said Supervisor Gordon Mar, who introduced Tuesday’s resolution and whose father and grandmother were detained at the immigration station on Angel Island.
Edward Tepporn, executive director for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, told The Chronicle that the foundation is “absolutely very excited about the possibility of there being continued direct ferry service” from San Francisco to Angel Island. While the island can be accessed from Tiburon via the
Angel IslandTiburon Ferry Company, the threat of losing service out of San Francisco would have dealt a significant blow in public access, Tepporn said.
“Angel Island is a place that is historically and culturally important. It’s a National Historic Landmark,” Tepporn said.