Anne Arundel County received nearly $3.9 million in federal grant funding Monday to buy electric ferries in preparation for a proposed passenger ferry system connecting waterfront destinations on the bay.
The $3,895,000 grant, awarded by the Federal Transit Administration, will go toward buying two 49-passenger electric ferries, as well as new electric charging infrastructure at Annapolis City Dock, the proposed ferry terminal, and workforce training and development, according to Renesha Alphonso, a spokesperson for Anne Arundel County.
The county did not receive the full amount requested in its grant application, however. The full $7.2 million request included funds for a 149-passenger electric ferry, electric shuttle buses and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.
But, receipt of the federal grant funds marks progress toward launching an electric ferry system across the bay.
“I won’t…say this is going to be easy, but we’re really excited about it because it’s potentially the beginning of the whole system,” Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said Wednesday.
Work pursuing a passenger ferry has been underway for nearly two years.
In August, a five-county tourism consortium led by Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County released a report evaluating the possibility of a Chesapeake Bay passenger ferry, including potential routes, ridership estimates, vessel requirements and financial analysis.
Three of the six baseline routes proposed for a passenger ferry system include Annapolis as a stop. The electric ferries that Anne Arundel County plans to purchase will be used for ferry service between Baltimore, Annapolis and Matapeake Park on Kent Island, according to the county’s grant application.
“One of the things that does make it simpler than people think is that these are passenger ferries and that all three jurisdictions have the dock,” Pittman said. “They have the place for it to happen, we don’t have to build that.”
Voyages on the electric passenger ferries are still several years away, though.
The county’s first priority, according to the grant application, is to designate a builder for the electric vessels and place the order before the end of the year. Construction will be a “limiting factor” for beginning ferry service, which is not expected to start until 2027.
“We’re really excited about getting people on the water,” Pittman said, “making it possible to do what folks who have a boat can do, which is hop over to the Eastern Shore and go to that cool park or hop up to Baltimore.”
Anne Arundel County’s ferry project was one of 18 projects funded through federal grants aiming to expand and modernize ferry systems. Nearly $300 million in grants were awarded across the country.
Nearby, the Delaware River and Bay Authority also received $20 million to purchase a new diesel-hybrid ferry to replace the vessel currently used daily as a vehicle and passenger ferry between Lewes, Delaware and Cape May, New Jersey.
