As Boston commuters gripe about traffic on the roads and delayed trains underground, another mode of public transportation is gaining more ridership and attention: ferries.
Passengers took 1.4 million trips on MBTA ferries in 2024. The transit authority said ridership on the mode is tracking to be up about 10% based on ridership data from the first six months of this year.
Earlier this month, the Healey administration granted a number of agencies — including the MBTA — a total of over $2 million to expand Boston Harbor water transportation in an effort to reduce road congestion.
David Perry, MBTA’s first-ever director of ferry operations, on a recent trip from East Boston to downtown by ferry to celebrate the grant, described water transportation as relatively easy to expand.
“We don’t need to lay down tracks. We don’t need to lay down a whole signal system. It’s all here,” he said, gesturing toward Boston Harbor. “We need docks, we need boats. So it’s not nothing, but it can be done.”
Since 2024 the T has added four boats to its fleet and expanded routes and hours. While ferries carry less than half a percent of the T’s total average weekday ridership, the amount of people commuting by boat has ticked upward.
T general manager Phil Eng said water transportation “has shown that it’s very successful.” And, he said, the transit system is looking at ways to expand water operations.
Water transit is even a talking point on the mayoral campaign trail — with little disagreement between Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and her chief rival, Josh Kraft.
Wu touted a new commuter ferry stop in South Boston earlier this month. The stop is part of a route offered by Seaport Ferry, which is operated by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, not the MBTA. That stop and the route are a public-private collaboration with private employers including Beacon Capital Partners, The Davis Companies, Jamestown Properties, Related Beal and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Last year, before the added stop, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority said it provided a total of 170,439 ferry rides.
Located at Pier 10 in Raymond Flynn Marine Park, the new stop connects to Lovejoy Wharf near North Station and Fan Pier in the Seaport. The Seaport Ferry also offers a route to East Boston.
During the event, Wu spoke of a need to expand the ferry’s operating hours beyond peak weekday commuting hours, and to offer weekend service to attract more riders. She called on private entities to step up to invest in the route “to help us take that next step and really deliver on the benefits that this foundation has today established.”
For his part, Kraft cited water travel in a transportation plan he rolled out in June. The document said he’d rally private and regional partners to build political will for water transit and push for more permanent ferry routes. But offered no details on locations or potential collaborations.
Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA advisory board, which represents cities and towns serviced by the T, said he’s all for expanding ferry offerings, noting water transit is more environmentally friendly than cars. He also wants the experience for riders to improve. One way he’d like to see the experience improved is by making the Seaport Ferry service available to MBTA pass holders. The two services currently use different fare systems.
But he noted any expansion is going to mean statewide purchase-in.
“There are things that municipalities can do sort of on a tactical level but at a strategic level it’s really exclusive,” Kane said. Which means any expansions of water service for the T would come at the state level, rather from Boston or other cities.
The state transportation department is planning to conduct an 18-month water transportation study.
Perry, the T’s ferry operations director, said he looks forward to learning what the possibilities could be. He said the findings will guide the transit authority “on where the opportunities are and where we should be focusing our attention.”
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