b'The economic eff ects of the covid pandemicProgram, WETA was able to lower fares andand Redwood City. It hopes to transition hit WSF hard. Total ridership in March 2020align those fares with other transit modes.about half of its fl to zero emissions. Iteet fell 75 percent compared to the last week ofWe also added a signifi cant amount of off - encourages Congress to increase the Federal thepriorFebruary,withwalk-onridershippeak service to accommodate the needs ofTransitAdministrationferryfundingto droppingby90percent.Aslow,graduallower-income,transit-dependentworkers$1.25 billion over fi ve years.restorationofridershipisunderway.Onwhocouldnotworkfromhomeand some routes, ridership levels have returned towhodidnotfollowtraditionalcommuteMr. Murphys full written statement can be pre-pandemic numbers, but on other routes,patterns.Inresponse,saidMr.Murphy,viewed here. ridershipislagging.Ongoingsupply-chainWETA ridership nearly doubled overnight. interruptionsretardWSFsabilitytoobtainSystemwideridershipisapproachingTo review the hearing in its entirety, necessary vessel parts and equipment. Worker40percentofpre-pandemiclevels,andclick here. shortages are a serious challenge, particularlyweekendridershipisover60percentof withrespecttodeckofficers.Pandemicpre-pandemic levels. A future FOGHORN column will discuss eff ects have led to numerous cancelations ofotheraspectsofthishearing,including scheduled voyages. Looking ahead, WETA has four new high- questionsandcommentsbyparticipating speed passenger-only ferry vessels on order.Members of Congress.Ms. Rubstellos full written statement can beIt is planning new routes to serve Berkeley viewed here. Mr. Seamus Murphy explained that as a San Francisco Bay regional public transit agency, WETAoperates15high-speedpassenger- The Trusted Source only ferry vessels that carry over three million passengersayear.UnderthenameSanfor Advanced LED LightingFrancisco Bay Ferry, the system currently serves the six cities of Alameda, Oakland, Richmond, SanFrancisco,SouthSanFrancisco,and Vallejo.Untiltheonsetofthepandemic, WETA was the fastest growing transit system in the Bay Area.BecausesomanyofWETAsridersare commuters, and because workers quit going toofficesindowntownSanFranciscoandNAVIGATION LIGHTSelsewhere,thepandemiccausedridershipto drop by 98 percent. For the next 16 months, ridershipremainedatbetween7and12UTILITY LIGHTING LED DECK LIGHTINGpercent of pre-covid levels. WETA responded byreducingservicetotheminimumlevel needed to maintain a travel option for essential workers.However,asofmid-summerand withtheassistanceoffederalemergency appropriationsforpublictransitservices, the San Francisco Bay Ferry has restored all prior routes.DOWN LIGHTINGMr.MurphytoldthesubcommitteethatSEARCHLIGHTSsubstantialchangeshavebeenapartofhis systems Pandemic Recovery Program: Before the pandemic, riders paid a premium for ferry travel. Customer satisfaction ratings were at 95 percent. Boats operated at maximum capacity. The higher fares refl ected the high demand. But WETA operates service to some of the BayPhoto credits (L-R): All American Marine, Brix Marine,All American MarineAreas most disadvantaged communities, and as a public transit operator, price should not be a factor in riders decision about which mode to choose. Through our Pandemic Recovery www.imtra.com 508.995.7000OCTOBER 2021 27 LEGISLATIVE REPORT'