Ferry Service Slated to Resume on May 28

Town Manager James McKenna is “hopeful” that the town’s ferry service will begin this year on Tuesday, May 28.

McKenna said the town has signed an agreement with a private business owner to run the ferry service that will carry passengers from Winthrop to Boston and back on a daily basis.

“This is a water taxi service – it’s a smaller vessel that will hold 40-50 people,” said McKenna. “It’s not the larger vessel that we had gotten accustomed to.”

McKenna said there was no federal or state subsidy for the ferry service this year. “The subsidies were for a pilot project and we passed that test, but the service has to survive on its own book of business.”

The town received a $330,000 subsidy in the first year of the ferry service and a $175,000 subsidy in the second year. Boston Harbor Cruises operated the ferry service last year but informed the town that it would not be able to continues its operations in the town without a subsidy.

The ferry service will commence with two runs in the morning hours and two runs in the evening hours.

The town is hosting a Ferry Open House meeting on May 23 at 5 p.m. at the Ferry Terminal Building.