Back in March, we reported that a small private ferry company was looking to operate regular service out of the Emeryville Marina after doing so successfully as a private charter for a large tech firm. Now a second service has stepped in to possibly bring some competition to a promising opportunity for residents looking to avoid our increasingly congested highways and stressful commutes.

PROP SF was the first to declare their intent to bring regular service to the Emeryville Marina and now Tideline Marine Group has reportedly received California Public Utilities Commission approval. Tideline plans to initially operate out of the Berkeley Marina on Fridays and will slowly ramp up service to five days a week and eventually expand into Emeryville. Tideline notes that its service is pending approval by the City of Berkeley. The East Bay Times is reporting that PROP SF expects to begin operating daily commuter service in Berkeley, Emeryville, San Francisco and Redwood City in the first week of 2017.

PROP SF’s website is claiming faster transit times at 12 minutes terminal-to-terminal and Tideline is offering more routes with twenty different landing zones. Both are offering one way fares in the neighborhood of $8-10 with discounts for bulk purchases.

Reaction from Emeryville residents has been mostly positive with some peninsula residents expressing concerns about parking in the area, the costs and the additional charge of bringing bikes on board which is $5.

Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) who operate our existing San Francisco Bay Ferry are also in discussions to expand service to Berkeley, Hercules, Antioch and Redwood City but the Emeryville Marina is too small to accommodate the larger vessels. WETA officials have committed to expand their fleet from 12 vessels to 35 in the next 20 years. Hopefully the competition will provide commuters with more options and even spur new players in this burgeoning bay arena.

Commuter ferry service approved from East Bay to San Francisco, Redwood City

By Erin Baldassari



For San Francisco-bound drivers inching their way down Interstate 80 in bumper-to-bumper traffic, or BART riders stuck standing in the claustrophobic heat of too-cramped quarters, a swift boat ride to work might seem like a dream come true.

That dream is becoming a reality. The California Public Utilities Commission last week approved two new private ferry operators to begin public commuter service this year from Berkeley and Emeryville to San Francisco and Redwood City. In addition, the Bay Area’s largest public ferry agency is in the midst of a massive overhaul, investing some $260 million on new maintenance facilities, vessels and an expanded ferry terminal in San Francisco.

Read More on East Bay Times →

Water taxi startup wins CPUC nod for Bay Area commuter service

By Chris Rauber

Tideline Marine Group, the water taxi service that wants to break into offering a regular Bay Area commuter service, has won a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to do just that.

The Sausalito startup, which has early stage funding from Richard Blum’s Blum Capital Partners, expects to receive final paperwork from the CPUC within the next 30 days, President Nathan Nayman told the Business Times Friday morning. It also still requires formal landing-right approvals from the City of Berkeley to make the commuter run a reality, he said.

Read More on SF Business Times →

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