The Canal Street-Algiers Point ferry in New Orleans is planning to cut back hours of operation in 2024 because of budget issues, Regional Transit Authority (RTA) officials said recently. S
tarting Jan. 14, RTA plans to reduce operations by six hours - rolling from 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. daily. Currently, departures start at 6 a.m., with final departures at 10:30 p.m.
The RTA is working with the state to retire a second Chalmette boat due to $6M worth of needed maintenance.
About 1.1M passengers and 175,000 vehicles take the Canal Street-Algiers Point ferry annually, according to the non-profit group Ride New Orleans. A report by the group found most riders are commuters to and from work - 81% live on the West Bank.
The changes come as COVID-19 recovery funds are scheduled to dry up after this year.
In the summer, RTA received $10M from the state Legislature for ferry operations and maintenance, but it still faces a $3M shortfall.
Since the removal of tolls on the Crescent City Connection in 2013, ferry service has been "grossly underfunded," RTA said. The tolls used to bring in about $9 million in operational revenue.
RTA’s local sales tax funding can only be used to fund streetcar and bus service.
The change would coincide with a 20% reduction in bus services when RTA pulls 24 buses from active service and retires eight in January due to a shortage of workers and an aging fleet. (NOLA.com 12/11/23) New Orleans RTA plans to cut hours for the Canal Street-Algiers ferry in 2024 | Traffic | nola.com
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