Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry Returns To "Full Day Schedule"

The longest continuously running ferry in the United States will run seven days a week at a "full day schedule" starting next month after earlier this summer.

The hires for the  by the Department of Transportation, which oversees the Connecticut ferries, will fill the positions that have been vacant for more than a year, according to a DOT press release.

The vacancies caused the ferry to only operate one shift each day, the release said. The lack of staffing also caused the ferry to be , due to illness or time off.

On July 1, the DOT will now be able to run two shifts each weekday. The ferry will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

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“I would like to express my appreciation for the hard work and dedication of the
members of the Task Force who gave up their time for a cause close to the hearts of many,” said DOT Commissioner James Redeker. “I would also like to thank the crews of both ferries who have always been and will continue to be focused on providing the best service possible to the citizens of the state.”

The new schedule was a goal of two local organizations; the called  and the , which was formed in association with DOT. The founder of group Paul Carr said he was "very happy" about the DOT accepting the reccomendation by his organization.

"Our commitment stands - If the DOT will commit to our 777 Plan, service from 7AM to 7PM, 7 days a week, we will work endlessly to attract ridership in order to reverse the decades-long decline in revenue in order that the service might become viable once again," he said. "The DOT has done as we asked and we intend to honor our commitment starting today."

The was established in October 2011 to figure out a way to permanently keep the two ferry services from coming under the state budget ax. Gov. Dannel  and laying off its workers to help address the deficit in his budget, if the union workers did not agree to his concessions plan. In August 2011, .

The public will also see new "descriptive signing" on the roads leading to the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry and the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry.

The fees for riding the ferry, which has been in operation since 1655, are:

• $3 for motor vehicle
• $2 for commuter rate (requires pre-purchased commuter coupons)
• $1 for pedestrians and bicyclist

For more information about the Connecticut Ferries, visit the DOT website.

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