Free Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle service expands to six days a week
Oakland-Alameda Water shuttle expands service on 1-year anniversary
Rochelle Wheeler, the Sr. project manager of the Oakland-Alameda Water Shuttle, celebrates one year of service for this pilot project that is now expanding to six days a week with extended hours on weekends.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The City of Alameda announced the expansion of their Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle service this week.
Take a ride on Woodstock
What we know:
Woodstock, the name of the 45-foot, yellow pontoon boat, is now open six-days a week, along with adding more departures and longer hours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The extended hours are from 7:20 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The service is now available on Tuesday after launching nearly one year ago.
The shuttle operates between public docks at the foot of Broadway Street in Oakland's Jack London Square and Bohol Circle Immigrant Park, at the foot of 5th Street in Alameda, near the Alameda Landing shopping area (behind Target), according to the Port of Oakland's post on social media.
The Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle vessel named "Woodstock".
Woodstock makes 63 trips a day.
San Francisco Bay Ferry alerted potential riders this week that there would be shorter wait times between departures.
The roughly 5-minute ride is free and wheelchair accessible. The vessel can accommodate up to 31 passengers and 14 bicycles on racks.
Pilot program extended
The Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle was intended as a two-year pilot program partnership between the City of Alameda, SF Bay Ferry and the Port of Oakland. There was also the intent for the program to have an opportunity to grow over time.
Rochelle Wheeler, the Oakland-Alameda Water Shuttle senior project manager told KTVU in the last year, the ferry has carried 105,000 riders and 22,000 bicycles. She also said the shuttle has secured the funding to extend the pilot another two years.
"We knew there would be demand for this trip because getting across the estuary on foot or on bike, right now, you have to go through the Posey Tube, which is a really awful experience" Wheeler said.
She said since the service began in 2024, people started riding right away.
"People love it. The number one thing people ask for is more service and for the shuttle to operate every day of the week," Wheeler said. "This is not substituting San Francisco Bay Ferry, it's complementing it. They're our partner in this. They're our operator. Some people use the water shuttle in order to get to the Oakland Ferry Terminal."
Wheeler said the service operators are excited to see how the public responds to this 35% increase in departures. She said people are using this as part of their commute, and for excursions like visiting friends, going out for meals and entertainment.
You can find more information on the schedule at this link.
KTVU's Cristina Rendon contributed to this story.
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