[StBernard] Ferry workers oppose privatization plan after bridge tolls expire

[Westley Annis]

Ferry workers oppose privatization plan after bridge tolls expire

Published: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 9:21 AM     Updated: Tuesday,
February 28, 2012, 9:23 AM

 By Paul Rioux, The Times-Picayune 

Ferry workers plan to meet this afternoon to discuss their opposition to
privatizing three Mississippi River ferries after tolls on the Crescent City
Connection expire at the end of the year, a union official said. About 75
employees of the Algiers, Chalmette and Gretna ferries would lose their jobs
under the privatization plan, said Ed Parker, a New Orleans field staff
operator for the AFSCME, which represents the workers.

Parker said privatization is not a silver bullet that can solve the
financial challenges facing the ferries, which are heavily subsidized by
bridge tolls.

"A private company will only run the ferries if they turn a profit," he
said. "If that doesn't happen, they'll be back asking the state for more
money."

The union plans to hold a meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the state Department of
Transportation and Development building in Bridge City.

The three ferries cost about $9 million to operate each year but generate
just $250,000 in passenger fees, with bridge tolls covering the huge
shortfall.

With tolls set to expire Dec. 31, state transportation officials are
drafting a request for proposals to operate the ferries for $4 million a
year, with a one-time payment of $19 million to upgrade the ferries and
terminals.

A task force that spent six months studying the bridge's finances proposed
privatizing the ferries as part its recommendation to extend the tolls.

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