JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The St. Johns River Ferry returned to service Friday with the first shuttle launching at 6 a.m. after the Jacksonville Transportation Authority had to close the ferry for more than a month.
The closure began after the ferry hit the Mayport Landing boarding ramp on May 4. The collision led to inspections, which showed that repairs were needed for the ramp structure.
The original timeline for the repairs was about 6 to 12 weeks, but JTA Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Smith said that the agency was able to not only re-open the ferry two weeks ahead of schedule, but also complete most of the Coast Guard-required maintenance that was scheduled to happen next year.
“We normally have to take the ferry out of service for up to three months, so we were able to get a lot of that work done at the same time, and we’re gonna actually be launching two weeks early,” Smith said.
This is expected to greatly reduce the time needed for scheduled maintenance moving forward.
“We had everything expedited, and we offered a lot of incentives to finish the job early because this is our busy season for our customers, and so we made it a priority to bring the project to a conclusion as quickly as possible,” Smith said.
The ferry averages over 10,000 people every week, so people’s everyday transportation was affected by the closure.
“Oh, it’s extremely important because it shaves up to 30 minutes each way off their travel time,” Smith said. “I mean, I use this every weekend when I go out bike riding, and not only is it for business or work, but it’s an important part of recreational life as well.”
Now, operations are back to normal for both Mayport Village and Fort George Island.
Officials said they’re working with HMS Ferries to investigate the incident and will share the findings with the public to ensure transparency and accountability.
Hours and prices
From Mayport Village to Fort George Island, the ferry runs from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and from Fort George Island to Mayport Village, it goes from 6:15 a.m. until 8:45 p.m.
The ferry departs every half hour, and it costs $1 for pedestrians and bikes.
The prices vary depending on if you pay with or without the MyJTA app.
For vehicles, you can save 10 cents using the MyJTA app for motorcycles, and 70 cents for cars.
Weekday daily prices
- Pedestrian/Bicycle: $1
- Motorcycle: $6 / $5.50 with MyJTA app
- Car: $7 / $6.30 with MyJTA app
- Truck, Bus, RV: $14 / $12.60 with MyJTA app
