At its October 6 Board of Directors meeting, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) awarded an exclusive 5-year contract for San Francisco Bay Ferry services to Blue & Gold Fleet (B&GF). San Francisco Bay Ferry, which recently assumed
operation of the Alameda/Oakland and Harbor Bay Ferries, provides daily commute and excursion service between Alameda, Oakland, San Francisco, and Harbor Bay. In early 2012, San Francisco Bay Ferry plans to launch new ferry service between South San Francisco and the East Bay and to assume operation of the City of Vallejo’s Baylink ferry operating between Vallejo and San Francisco. Under the new contract, B&GF will be responsible for the daily operation of all these services at an estimated five year cost of $44.5 million. Harbor Bay Maritime has provided the Bay Farm Island ferry service since 1992. B&GF will assume that service under the new contract.
The WETA Board cited the company’s proven track record of delivering safe, quality service to passengers and the professionalism of their crews before unanimously awarding the contract
to Blue & Gold. WETA will also have the option of 5 one-year extensions after the initial 5-year contract expires. This was the culmination of years of hard work by members of the Inlandboatmen’s Union (IBU), Masters, Mates and Pilots (MM&P), Blue & Gold officials and WETA Board members. The contract will provide stability for the company and job security for Blue & Gold workers.
“It was a long journey to get to this point,” said Marina Secchitano, IBU Regional Director. “I
want to recognize the hard work of the WETA Board and the members of MM&P and the IBU whose hard work facilitated Blue & Gold getting this award.”
Taylor Safford, President of Blue & Gold said that the victory was the result of the partnership between the company, the IBU and the MM&P. “The leadership of these two unions worked very hard to insure that WETA understood the opportunity presented by awarding the contract to Blue & Gold,” Safford said.
WETA was established in 2007 as successor to the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA), which had been established in 1998. WETA is mandated by the State of California to operate a comprehensive San Francisco Bay Area public water transit system, and to plan and coordinate the water transit response to a regional emergency. IBU Regional Director
Marina Secchitano served as a Board member for the WTA.