Strong Demand for New Newport to Providence Ferry on First Weekend

NEWPORT, RI—The inaugural weekend for the reborn ferry service between Newport and Providence was a success with more than 1,300 passengers riding the ferry over the Independence Day weekend.

All morning trips were sold out and all but one of the midday trips was at capacity, according to the state Department of Transportation.

DOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. said he and other officials are very pleased with the service and "view it as an overwhelming success."

"The ferry likely reintroduced many people to Newport and the Bay, affording a unique way to experience Rhode Island's greatest natural resource while avoiding the challenges associated with driving and parking in busy downtown Newport," Alviti said.

The service, which caters to tourists, is a revival of a similar service offered by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority that ended in 2008 after federal funding dried up.

Officials are keeping an eye on the service this year and consider it a pilot program. If all goes well all summer, the service could return next year.

The rollout was not without glitches. There were some complaints by passengers that the ticketing and reservation system was not fully up and running for the first weekend. Some people were turned away at the dock in Providence. And the DOT cancelled a late ferry from Providence to Newport on July 4 because of traffic in the bay from vessels gathering to watch fireworks in Newport Harbor.

SeaStreak of New Jersey is operating the 65-foot M/V Ocean State to and from Perrotti Park in Newport to a landing terminal near the former Shooter's Property in Providence. It won the contract after the state solicited bids to revive the service, which an 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 a June 9 Public Utilities Commission filing.

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, Alviti said.