The ferry fare saga seems like it's never going to end, we know. Fares have been agreed upon (see below) but it's not smooth sailing yet. The Lens' Della Hasselle live blogged today's Regional Transit Authority board meeting and it's quite entertaining (for a board meeting, at least). Justin Augustine of Veolia Transportation said they listened to what residents had to say about ferry operations but get this, they can't make everyone happy. "You have to have a product to market. I have a 70-year-old piece of crap to deal with out there," he said. "You can't be mad if the state uses crappy equipment today, and be mad at us if we operate the same crappy equipment tomorrow. We're not miracle workers." For those just tuning in, Veolia Transportation steers the bus, so to speak, for the RTA and will most likely be taking over ferry operations. The ferry isn't just crappy. It's broke, too. But Augustine said selling ads to increase ferry revenue isn't an option because it's only a 15 minute ride. Wait, isn't the beauty of advertising in the fact that it can happen so quickly? Anyway, still nothing set in stone about ferry hours returning to normal, so stay tuned.
· Pedestrians will pay $2 each way
· A $7 day pass will cover all you can ride on the ferry, streetcars, and buses
· A five-day ferry pass is $18 and $30 to include streetcars and buses
· A monthly pass is $65 and $105 to include streetcars and buses
This will be presented to City Council for approval later this month.
· Live blog: RTA approves new fares for Algiers, Chalmette ferries [The Lens]
· All ferry coverage [Curbed NOLA]