Portland Ferry

The Portland Ferry was a ferry service between Portland and Staunton Island that was replaced with the new Porter Tunnel when it opened in 2001.

Before the rebuilding of the Callahan Bridge, car transport between Portland and Staunton Island was a privilege. Both the ferry ticket for a car and toll ticket on the bridge was the exact same price. Buses and emergency vehicles rarely used the ferry.

History
The Portland Ferry service was established in 1924 when the traffic levels on the Callahan Bridge became too congested and the subway system reached it's peaks. During the beginning there were two ferries which went to and from the islands every half hour. As the traffic on the ferries became considerably worse, there was sat in two more ferries, which changed the schedule to one per. every fifteen minutes. Each ferry could take fourty vehicles and circa 100 passengers and during the day there were usually never a single ferry that were not completely congested with people. In 1950, because of heavy congestion problems on the ferry terminals, the ferries' total weight was modified, allowing up to 250 passengers per ferry. People that were going to take the ferry were advised to leave their car behind, and the ticket for bringing a car was changed from $1 to $7, equalient to $70 today. Additional ferries were also sat in, so there was now six ferries, allowing for ferries every ten minutes. Delays of up to 20 minutes were not uncommon, as there took a great amount of time placing everyone onboard to maximise space. Many times during the week, ferries would be so delayed that they just stood in line behind other ferries waiting for them to leave shore. By 1968, the ferries stopped to follow any schedule and rather followed the mentality of "get to the other side as quickly as possible". Attempts were made during the late 1970's to establish schedules, but failed. The digital boards would show "Ready whenever" instead of actual time dates.

The boats were mostly untouched from the beginning to the end of the ferry service. There happend inside renovations in 1956, 1974 and 1992. The renovations included usually more inside seats, more comfortable seats, snack machines, decorations and outside seating.

By 1997, the price as a passenger was as follows:

No vehicle: $10

Car: $80

Truck: $160