[StBernard] RTA takeover of Algiers, Chalmette ferries could come from bill headed to the House

[Westley Annis]

RTA takeover of Algiers, Chalmette ferries could come from bill headed to
the House

Print By Jeff Adelson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
The Algiers and Chalmette ferries could be absorbed into the Regional
Transit Authority with funding from the state transportation department
under a bill headed to the House floor. The changes, which could allow
increased fares, come in the wake of the decoupling of the ferries from the
Crescent City Connection during last year's debate over bridge tolls and an
unsuccessful effort to privatize the ferry service.

Senate Bill 215 by Sen. David Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, is an attempt to
find a stable funding source for the ferries given those realities. The bill
would create a ferry system with its own dedicated accounts, funded with $4
million a year from the Department of Transportation and Development and
$800,000 a year from motor vehicle tag fees for trucks and trailers in New
Orleans.

About 1 million people a year travel on the Canal Street to Algiers ferry
each year and a "large number" use the Chalmette ferry, Rep. Jeff Arnold,
D-New Orleans, told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. But the
service has been expensive to operate because of the age of the ferries,
which drives up their personnel and maintenance costs, Arnold said. "Some of
them are twice as old as I am," he said.

The appropriations committee approved the measure unanimously, sending it
for a final vote in the House. The Senate has already approved the measure,
but the upper chamber will have to agree to amendments added by the House
before the bill goes to the governor's desk.

The bill would allow a local public agency, most likely RTA, to take over
the operation of the ferries and would permit that organization to determine
the fares.

It's not clear how bringing in RTA would affect fares on the ferries, which
are now free for pedestrians and cost $1 for vehicles. The bill allows the
agency taking over the service to set its rates, and Arnold suggested that
by combining the ferries and RTA, riders would be able to get transfers from
public transit lines when they want to cross the river.

As part of last year's debate over the CCC tolls, which ended with the
election eliminating them in May, lawmakers separated the ferries from the
operations of the bridge. The plan was to privatize the service but no
potential buyers stepped forward when the transportation department put the
service out to bid last year.

The uncertainty over funding is what sparked Heitmeier's bill, Arnold said.

"The purse strings have been tightened substantially and we have to act," he
said.

Long-time CCC toll opponent Rep. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, said the
measure could be a step in the right direction.

"It looks like the change could be for the better," Connick said.