Ferry Boats Aren't the Answer

During the recent Metro-North meltdown, at least one coastal community (Darien) thought about using ferry boats to get commuters to NYC.  Interesting idea in a crisis, but let me debunk the popular myth that the solution to our transportation woes can be found on Long Island Sound. 

Ferry boats face several challenges:

SPEED:        In open water, fast ferries on the Sound could make 30 knots (35 mph).  But if they must sail up inlets to the downtown areas of Bridgeport, Norwalk or Stamford, that speed is cut to 5 knots, adding to travel time.

DOCKING:    To keep to their competitive speeds, docks would have to be located close to the Sound.  That’s expensive real estate.  And what about parking at those docks… and travel time on local roads to reach them?  Again, more travel time.

FREQUENCY:         Metro-North offers trains to midtown New York every 20 minutes in rush hour carrying 800 – 1000 passengers per train.  No ferry service anywhere in the country can compete with that frequency of service.  Will travelers really be willing to wait an hour or two for the next boat?

COMFORT:             In nice weather, a boat ride to work sounds idyllic.  But what about in a Nor’easter?  The bumpiest ride on the train pales by comparison.

FARES:        The most optimistic of would-be ferry operators estimate their fares will be at least double those charged on the train.  And people say Metro-North is too expensive?

OPERATING COSTS:       One of the reasons fares would be so high is that fast ferries are gas guzzlers, the aquatic equivalent to the Concorde.  When the Pequot Indians built high speed catamarans to ferry gamblers to their casino in Connecticut to lose money, the service proved so expensive that the Pequot’s dry-docked the ferries in New London.

COMPETITION:      When private operators ran ferry service from Glen Cove Long Island and from Yonkers to midtown NY, paralleling routes well served by the LIRR and Metro-North, they shut down after just a few months because they couldn’t compete with the trains.  Coastal Connecticut already has (usually) fast, efficient rail service, so why duplicate what already works?

ECONOMICS:         The final reason I don’t think ferries make economic sense is that nobody else does.  Ferry operators (like the near-bankrupt NY Waterways) aren’t stupid.  They’ve looked at possible service from coastal Connecticut, crunched the numbers and backed off.  In a free market economy, if a buck could be made running ferries, they’d be operating by now.  They aren’t operating, and there are lots of reasons why, many of which I’ve listed.

The only place ferries are running successfully is where they’re heavily subsidized (everywhere), have a monopoly (for example, getting to downtown Seattle from an island suburb), don’t duplicate existing transportation routes (like from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson), or offer advantages of speed because they operate on extremely short runs (from Hoboken to midtown).  Our situation here in Connecticut matches none of those tests.

You already know I’m a train nut. (The bumper sticker on my car reads “I’d Rather Be on the Train.”).  And I do love an occasional recreational sail on the Sound.  But I just think it’s unrealistic to think that commutation by ferries is in our future. 

Metro-North's Meltdown

First of all, despite what some commuters may recently be thinking, the folks who manage and operate Metro-North are not stupid.  Inconsiderate and uncommunicative sometimes, but not stupid.

Metro-North managers and employees are railroad professionals, justifiably proud of the 96+% on-time performance they achieve on one of the busiest commuter line in the US.  They want to run a world class railroad.  But they can only achieve as much as the states of NY and Connecticut fund them to do.

In recent years our legislature gave MNRR $1+ billion to buy badly needed new railcars, a very visible manifestation to commuters that the state was investing in the railroad.  But sufficient funding for inspection and repair of the tracks, the catenary and our 100- year-old bridges is still lacking.

New cars are sexy.  Giving them safe tracks to run on and wires to power them, not so sexy.

What happened when Con Ed’s back-up feeder cable failed at 5:30 am on Wednesday Sept 25^th was not an act of God, but human error.  The two agencies knew the main power cable was going to be out of service and calculated, very wrongly, that the single back-up cable would be sufficient.

This raises a number of questions:  Did Con Ed monitor that back-up cable for signs it might fail?  Was it wise to save $1 million by not constructing a back-up for the back-up?  Does Homeland Security know or care that the entire Metro-North and Amtrak Northeast Corridor were depending on this calculation? How many other power sub-stations are in similar danger?

The effects of this outage are many:  the inconvenience to 125,000 daily riders, the economic impact on those commuters’businesses, and longer-term, the economic recovery of our state and nation.

Governor Malloy quickly called this outage just the latest black eye for our state in his efforts to attract businesses to set up shop in the Nutmeg State.  Even if they can tolerate our high taxes, do relocating CEO’s really want to rely on Metro-North to get their employees to and from work or fight the perpetual rush-hour crawl on I-95?

I fear some individual commuters may be reaching the tipping point.  There are plenty of other New York suburbs with good schools and more reliable transportation.  If fed-up Connecticut commuters decide to vote with their feet and move to Westchester or Long Island, they will take their taxes with them.  Remember that Fairfield County pays 40% of all state taxes in Connecticut, so anything that makes our neighborhoods less attractive, hurts the entire state.

And it hurts our house values too.  People live in the towns served by Metro-North because they need to rely on those trains to get to high-paying jobs in NYC.  When that trust is broken, those towns and their houses become less attractive.

If housing values sag, town taxes will have to go up.  The schools will suffer making our towns even less desirable for those leaving the city for the good life in the ‘burbs.

Reliable train service at an affordable price is what makes Fairfield County thrive.  When you begin to doubt the ability of the railroad to keep operating, let alone be on time, it may be time to rethink where you live.

Public Hearings... or Political Theater?

I believe passionately in open, transparent government.  The public has a right to know what their elected officials are doing and comment on it before it’s done, usually by way of mandated public hearings.

So I was thrilled to see that the Government Accounting Office has issued a 56 page report sharply critical of the Port Authority of NY-NJ for raising tolls without public input. 

In 2011, the Authority jacked up tolls by 50% on bridges and tunnels three days after a single public hearing, held on a weekday during rush hour.  And even at that one hearing, comments were taken without an explanation of the proposal.

It’s as if the Authority went out of its way to avoid criticism, constructive or otherwise.  And for that the GAO rightly criticized them.

We’ve seen this same thing happen many times in Connecticut:

·       The CDOT plans a rail fare increase, baked into its legislative budget, then holds public hearings.  Nothing said at the hearings can affect the decision to boost fares (except possibly to cut train service).

·       The state’s Transportation Strategy Board holds a public hearing on a million dollar study of over a dozen different possible scenarios for tolling on I-95, asking for comments but without ever explaining what the study said.

·       The state chooses to develop land under the Stamford garage in a secret negotiation with developers without ever seeking input from commuters on what’s planned.

The formula is simple, but backwards.  Lawmakers decide what they want to do and then hold a pro forma public hearing to get comments from those who will be affected.  Too often the decision has been made and, for political theater, they just go through the motions of asking for comment.

Here’s a novel idea:  why not hold a public hearing first, asking constituents, commuters and customers what they think?  Explain to them the necessity of a fare hike or development plan and then ask for their reaction.

Decisions by government-run monopolies should be made with input from all the stakeholders, not a handful of bureaucrats.  That’s how you build a consensus in a democracy.

But there is good news.  Recently in my town of Darien the pattern was broken.

A planned parking rate increase at the town’s two train stations, Darien and Noroton Heights, came up for a public hearing before the Board of Selectmen.  A final vote on the plan was on the agenda for the same evening.

But a handful of dismayed commuters who knew no details of the plan (boosting day-parking rates by 66%), turned up at the hearing and protested. They said they had not been warned about the proposal, that commuters had not been told of the public hearing and they had a slew of complaints and concerns about other aspects of the parking lots and stations.

I guess I was the one responsible for that turnout, as I’m the one who posted signs at the station and leafleted cars in the parking lot, something I told the town fathers they could and should have done.

To their credit, and my surprise, the public hearing was continued for another week and the rate-hike pushed back until more commuters could be heard.  Signs were posted at the stations informing commuters of the proposals and the chance to be heard.

The Board of Selectmen was not required to do that, but they did.  And they deserve credit and our thanks for listening first and voting second.

Listen to Commuters!

Commuters don’t like surprises.  They plan their daily travels down to the second, and “surprises” take them aback.  Changes in a timetable, fare increases… they all seem inevitable, but what angers commuters is when they happen without input and without warning.

So imagine the impending anger when Darien and Noroton Heights commuters find that their parking rates will be raised and their payment methods changed starting in October. 

The scratch-off vouchers will be gone, replaced by pay stations

and on-line payment apps.  Annual permit will be penalized if they are tardy in renewal.

These are plans the Board of Selectmen have been discussing for months, but few commuters have any idea what’s coming.

Last Monday night the Board held a perfunctory “public hearing” on the plan they’d already decided to approve with a vote that same evening.  There’s nothing like the political theater of asking constituents’ opinions on a plan you’ve not explained and you’re all set to enact as an ordinance.

The town didn’t post notices at either station about the hearings.  They didn’t send out e-mails to permit holders or get a story in the Darien Times.  It was all legal, but slipped onto an agenda in hopes nobody would notice.

But I noticed.  And because I believe passionately in open government, I e-mail commuters, printed flyers and posted signs at the stations… and four commuters came to the hearing, testifying passionately about the price increase and sharing numerous complaints about station parking.

To her credit, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson admitted there had been inadequate communication about the plan and offered to extend the public hearing into a special meeting on Monday September 16^th, 7:30 pm at Town Hall.

To my reckoning, this is an unprecedented move.  Never before has the Board of Selectmen gone out of its way to ask commuters… their customers and constituents… for their opinions and feedback on such a vital town service.

We cannot miss this opportunity.

Their plan calls for a 66% price jump in day parking (totaling an additional $500 per year) and “market rate” repricing for annual permits.  How much money will be raised?  How will it be spent?  What about the 8-year waiting list for annual permits?  Security cameras?  Better lighting?

Let’s fill the room with commuters on Monday.  Tell your friends.  Bring your ideas. If you can’t attend, e-mail me your comments.

Let’s show our elected officials that we do care.  Commuting is a big part of our lives.  This is our town and commuters can and should be heard on these plans!

The Shipping Revolution

Each year, billions of dollars worth of goods arrive on our shores by sea… oil, cars, electronics and food.  But how those shipments make their way to our ports is undergoing dramatic change in two significant areas.

The first is the Arctic Ocean, suddenly free of ice many summer months and open to traffic. Oil from Norway can now reach Japan by sailing “over” Russia rather than sailing through the Suez canal, a 40% time / cost savings.  And goods from China, the world’s largest shipper, can arrive in Europe cheaper and faster (by up to two weeks) by sailing the “Arctic Golden Waterway” rather than going through the Panama Canal.    

Northwest Passage Sea Routes

Ironically, the Northwest Passage between Alaska and Greenland is not as accessible as the Russian waters.  Canada claims the waters to be their own while the US says they are international.

Of course, both Arctic routes depend on global warming and are only passable a few months each summer.  And both passages are very dangerous.  Though the seas may be free of ice, salt spray hitting the ships’ superstructure freezes instantly at -20 degrees.  If enough ice builds up, ships can literally capsize from the weight.

Not to be outdone, the Panama Canal is expanding in a $5.25 billion project approved seven years ago.  When completed, the wider and deeper channels and locks will handle vessels triple the size of the already enormous “Panamax” ships of today.

PanaMax Container Ship

What does this mean for the US?  Plenty!

To handle the mega-ships, US ports need to be dredged and widened as well.  Almost $46 billion has already been spent for cranes, higher capacity train lines and deeper channels at ports like Jacksonville, Baltimore and, yes, even New York.

The Port Authority of NY/NJ is about to spend $1 billion to raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate the taller mega-ships. 

Bayonne Bridge

But environmental challenges may delay the project ‘til 2016 after the new canal opens.

US railroads are also gearing up.  While it used to be cheaper to ship containers to Long Beach CA and then carry them by rail across the US, the new Panama Canal may see those containers arrive on the east coast and be carried by train west.  American coal may find new markets overseas by being shipped directly to Atlantic ports for on-loading to ships.

But rail service between the Pacific and Atlantic is not limited to the US.  The governments of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras are looking to build a dry-canal (railroad) between the oceans that may be cheaper to use than paying the tolls extracted for shipping through the canal.

And in Nicaragua, the Sandanista-controlled national assembly has backed a $40 billion plan for a Chinese company to dig a rival to the Panama canal.  But there are many who doubt it can be done or that its length, triple that of Panama, will be economically viable.

All of these efforts add up to one thing:  as the ships get bigger, the world gets smaller.