Ferry ridership increases due to Transbay Tube closure

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The BART Transbay tube closure has put added pressure on roadways, ferries and buses across the Bay Area this weekend.

A lot of people have been taking the ferry and as a result it's been very busy. In fact, it's been so crowded at times that boats are reaching capacity. In which case, passengers near the back of the line have had to wait for the next ferry.

On Saturday, the number of passengers on the San Francisco Bay Ferry from Oakland to Alameda to San Francisco more than doubled. There were 8,464 passengers on the route Saturday, whereas last year on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend there were just 3,771 passengers.

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As of Sunday afternoon the Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco route had 2,185 passengers, which is only up slightly from last year's 1,931 passengers on Sunday of Labor Day weekend.

ABC7 News spoke with people who missed the ferry going back to the East Bay because the boat filled up quickly. "The line was all the way to the back and we thought we were probably going to miss it, but it's OK. It's beautiful, it's great weather. We're happy you know, we don't get to the city that much, so it's OK with us," Wanda Conner said.

"We can usually just hop right on. Now, the frequency of ferries today is much better. They have added some ferries, so there's only a half an hour wait versus an hour wait. It's still convenient," Marie Manha said.

Others have chosen to take the free buses to get across the bay while the Transbay Tube is closed for repairs.

The bus bridge is said to be running smoothly.

MORE INFORMATION FROM SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY(SFMTA)

We are more than halfway through this 3-day closure as the Transbay Tube is expected to reopen Tuesday morning.

Bay City News contributed to this story.