A decades-old dream to revive passenger ferries in the nation’s largest estuary took a step forward last week, although not with the electric vessels some had envisioned.
A report commissioned by a group of Maryland counties along the Chesapeake Bay found that a seasonal ferry system connecting 14 coastal communities could generate $111 million in benefits to the state over two decades — nearly six times as much as its estimated costs over the same period.
But the feasibility study by Cambridge Systematics consultants determined that all-electric ferries “struggle to meet the range requirements” of the proposed ferry routes. The April-to-October ferry system aims to reinvigorate coastal communities by drawing “eco-conscious travelers seeking low-environmental impact options to authentically explore the region,” the study said.
The six proposed routes range in distance from 55 nautical miles between Chesapeake Beach on the west side of the bay and Easton on the Eastern Shore, to 169 nautical miles between the state capital of Annapolis and Crisfield near the state’s southern edge. The study also considered an expanded version of the system with an additional route and seven more destinations in the network.
