Ferry Service Expected to Begin July 1 Between Newport and Providence

NEWPORT, RI—Ferry service is set to begin between Providence and Newport on July 1 and the 149-passenger catamaran being used to provide the service will be a familiar sight in Rhode Island waters.

SeaStreak and the state Department of Transportation have come to an agreement on a contract to operate the service, which will connect people from the former Shooters property in Providence to Perotti Park in Newport with an adult round-trip ticket costing $20.

All that's left is final approval from the state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, which has been asked by the DOT to give expedited approval for the state and SeaStreak to collect fares.

SeaStreak was awarded the bid after a state request for proposals in April sought to bring back the service, which ran from 2000 to 2008 with a peak ridership between 30,000 and 40,000 during the busy summer months between June and September, according to the June 9 PUC filing.

SeaStreak, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based New England Fast Ferry, will be using the 65-foot M/V Ocean State to provide the service. The high-speed luxury ferry was built by Merrifield-Roberts of Bristol and designed for the Providence to Newport route, operating from 2003 to 2008. When the service stopped, she was repurposed to service baseball games and was once listed for sale on Boats.com with an asking price of $2.3 million.

The Ocean State can reach speeds of 30 knots and a run from Providence to Newport takes about 45 minutes. The state estimates that at peak customer levels, the service could take 15,000 to 20,000 cars off the road on a given day.

Less cars means less emissions, and that's the foundation for the $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that RIDOT received and will use to support funding for the ferry service. The state expects to spend about $1 million on the ferry this year, DOT Director Peter Alviti told the Providence Journal on Friday.

In the PUC application, the DOT said that during the pilot season this summer, "RIDOT and SeaStreak are committed to make commercially reasonable efforts to obtain additional funding for the ferry transportation beyond the initial first season."

The planned schedule, according to the filing, is for Monday to Thursday weekday service with departures in Providence at 10 a.m., 12:30 .m. and 6 p.m. Departures from Newport would be at 11:15 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

On Weekends, there would be four departures each in Newport and Providence. From Providence, the times would be 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. From Newport, the ferry will depart 11:15 a.m., 1:45 p.m, 6:15 p.m. and 11 p.m.

A one-way ticket for adults would be $10. People with disabilities, seniors over 65 and children under 10 will pay $5. There is no discount for a round-trip fare.

A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority ferry had run between Providence and Newport from 2000 to 2008 with a federal subsidy but the service ended when the money ran out and the state struggled to attract bidders to operate the service.

The ferry could unlock a variety of tourism-boosting opportunities and Newport tourism officials are hopeful something comes together.

Should ferry service between Newport and Providence return, it would be a great benefit to both residents and visitors alike," said Evan Smith, President and CEO of Discover Newport. "Visitors especially will appreciate and celebrate the diverse experiences offered by both our cities, and the cruise on Narraganset Bay is unparalleled. "

The state asked the PUC for an expedited hearing process. The DOT noted in the PUC application that the ferry service is "not a lifeline service, nor does it serve an isolated population, and that the facts and circumstances surrounding this request constitute good cause for an expedited hearing."