A ferry is a boat which is designed to move people from one point to another.

In cities located on large bodies of water, or areas with a large number of rivers and canals, ferries form an important part of the transportation system. In addition to being used by people and their cars, ferries are also utilized by shipping trucks and trains, and used to load and transport materials in bulk. A number of different ferry designs accommodate different uses. The term ferry has been in use since at least the 1400s, and is related to an older Germanic word. Before bridges became widespread, a ferry would have been the only way to cross most bodies of water. Typically, the ferry operator lived by the water, so that travelers could have rapid access to the services of the ferry. These ferries ranged in size from small rowboats to much larger boats which could potentially hold horses and supplies as well as people. In general, a modern ferry runs on a regular schedule, allowing people to plan trips around the ferry. In population dense areas, ferry service may be very frequent, to accommodate large numbers of people. The most basic type of ferry just holds people, usually providing minimal amenities because the trip is short. When the ferry arrives at the other end, the people can disburse onto other forms of public transit such as buses or trains. In many parts of the world, people use ferries to avoid commute traffic. Other ferries also hold personal vehicles. Many of these ferries ply locations such as the English Channel, carrying people back and forth between the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. In some cases, people stay in their cars on the ferry, while on longer trips, people find seating in the ferry. A ferry can also be used to load entire freight trains or shipping trucks, allowing companies to quickly move goods along major waterways. Many different designs are used for ferries, depending on how the ferry will be utilized. For longer ferry trips, the design of the ferry may include a cafe and other amenities to keep travelers entertained. Freight ferries tend to be rather utilitarian in design and appearance, while some passenger ferries are sleek and decorative. Many passenger ferries take the form of high speed catamarans which can quickly get people where they need to go. In many cases, a ferry is built with a double ended design, meaning that either end can face forward while sailing, which saves time at docking and departure since the ferry does not have to be repositioned. A ferry (or ferryboat) is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry (or ferry) primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi. Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. However, ship connections of much larger distances (such as over long distances

in water bodies like the Mediterranean Sea) may also be called ferry services, especially if they carry vehicles.

The Pride of Burgundy, a P&O Ferries passenger car ferry that can carry 600 cars on the Dover-Calais English Channel route.[1]

A car ferry in Istanbul, near Galata Bridge

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A Brief History Of Ferry Services On The Thames 1840 - 1909

The concept of a waterbus service on the Thames to ease London's traffic problems has often been discussed, and taking in account the success of water transport in other UK and European cities the lack of a Thames river passenger service has been regarded as something of an anomaly. Throughout recent history the idea has been visited and revisited but not since the mid 1800s has it ever proved viable on a long-term basis. From the 1840s until the mid 1870s several companies provided regular steamboat services between Kew to the west and Woolwich and Greenwich to the east. From the mid-1870s onward, however, operations ceased to be profitable. In 1875 the London Steamboat Company was formed to combine the competing companies then on the river and bought together some 70 boats. On 3rd September 1878 the sinking of PRINCESS ALICE below Woolwich due to a collision

with the collier BYWELL CASTLE resulted in the loss of 460 (some reports state up to 700) lives, and was said to have had a very adverse effect on river transport. In 1879 the assets of the London Steamboat Company were leased out. When control was regained in 1882 it was unprofitable and went into liquidation. The liquidator, however, continued to run the service. Control was then passed to The River Thames Steamboat Navigation Company, which ran a service, but in 1886, when they tried to sell the fleet, a buyer could not be found. Subsequently fourteen of the boats were sold for scrap and by the end of 1887 they ceased trading altogether with the remaining boats being laid up. The The Victoria Steamboat Association bought the fleet in 1888 and managed to make a success of the operation. By 1893 it had increased its fleet to 46 boats. However, the company was wound up in August 1894, allegedly due to some underhand financial and managerial activities. The service restarted in 1896 under the name of Victoria Steamboats Limited, but lasted just the one season. In 1897 the Thames Steamboat Company, purchased the Victoria Steamboats fleet and by 1901 had added nine boats, taking its fleet to 36 boats. It also took over six piers and the leases of two others. The chairman of the Thames Steamboat Company was Mr Arnold Hills (1857-1927) who was also chairman and managing director of Thames Iron Works Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in West Ham. It was the biggest shipbuilder on the Thames and had built a number of warships for both British and overseas navies (including the preserved WARRIOR in Portsmouth Dockyard). The service he ran was not profitable but he hoped an injection of capital and the acquisition of the piers, which were costing in the region of his deficit, would allow him to improve the service, and his profits. However this did not materialise and his losses increased. In 1889, the London County Council (L.C.C.) was introduced. Its creation was forced by a succession of scandals involving its predecessor, the non-elected Metropolitan Board of Works, which had run London's infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The L.C.C. was created as the principal administrative body for the County of London; a lower tier of 28 metropolitan boroughs was created in 1899, replacing the earlier parishes and vestries. The L.C.C.'s administrative area was the County of London: an area smaller than Greater London is now and corresponding to today's London Boroughs of Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster. It almost immediately became an aim of the new council to run a municipal ferry service on the Thames. Hills tried to negotiate with the new council over partnerships, the transfer of boats and the ownership of piers. The L.C.C. were unwilling to make any concessions, which resulted in a standoff to the extent that only a sporadic service operated between 1901 and 1904. In 1904, the Council finally succeeded in satisfying all interested parties in relation to the service on the Thames. The original plan was to provide a service every five minutes in each direction between London Bridge and Vauxhall or Chelsea, a service upstream from there to Hammersmith or beyond every fifteen minutes, and another fifteen minute service from London Bridge to Greenwich and Woolwich. The number of steamboats thought to be required to run this level of service was first put at 55, but later reduced to 40. In 1902 it was decided to only provide a fifteen-minute service all the way between Greenwich and Hammersmith, which reduced the requirement to 30 boats. This lowered costs, and the final estimates showed a capital expenditure of 210,000 for the construction of 30 boats (repayable over 20 years) and 70,000 for the acquisition and improvement of piers (payable over 30 years). The annual running expenditure was estimated as 98,960 In the event, tenders for the boats were received totalling only 184,000, a sum which would have been even less had there not been some deliberate bias in favour of Thames-side shipbuilding in order to support local employment. The tender received from the Thames Iron Works Shipbuilding and Engineering Company was accepted at a price higher than was quoted by its competitors.

J.I. Thorneycroft & Co, Southampton; Napier & Miller & Co, Glasgow and Thames Ironworks, Blackwall were the original contractors being awarded 10 boats each. Some of the boats were subcontracted to G. Rennie & Co., Greenwich to ensure that the required delivery time was met. The boats were virtually identical in size being 130 feet long, 18 feet breadth and 120 gross tons with a carrying capacity of 530 passengers. A single boiler fed steam to the compound diagonal engine of 350 IHP, which turned the two 10ft 6-inch paddle wheels giving a speed of 12.5 knots. Scotts Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Greenock, and Thames Ironworks supplied the engines.

HRH the Prince of Wales opened the service on June 17th 1905 by steaming ceremoniously from one end of the route to the other on the KING ALFRED. Fare-paying traffic began the day after. Fares, when the service started, were 1d single and 2d return for up to three miles, then 2d and 3d respectively for up to five miles, then 3d and 5d for up to eight miles with reductions for journeys started before eight a.m. The Thames Steamboat Company, which also had the right to use the piers, ran a rival service and undercut the fare structure. By the end of the summer the L.C.C. had to acknowledge that passenger numbers had fallen far short of the number necessary to break even. To try and offset this shortfall the 1905/6 winter service ran a reduced service. Although agreement was reached with The Thames Steamboat Company over fares routes and piers in the spring of 1906, takings during the summer of 1906 was well below expenditure. In the summer of 1906 the decision was taken not to run a winter service and that in 1907 they would only run a service for 4 months in the summer. In early 1908, the Committee recommended selling or chartering all the boats, following an earlier decision to sell off just six boats. Attempts to sell the whole fleet were unsuccessful and the boats were sold over the period from April to July 1909, for a total of 18,204. The last fourteen fetched only the derisory amount of 393 each, being bought by the City Steamboat Company. They ran an intermittent summer service from 1909 but by August 1914 all had been sold on for further service. The following pages attempt to trace the fates and fortunes of the original thirty boats.

DEVELOPMENT OF FERRY SERVICES IN THE LAGOS METROPOLITAN AREA

Quote: Lagos metropolitan area is by far the largest and most complex urban area in Nigeria and, in economic terms, it is pre-eminent. With about 17.8 million inhabitants, Lagos is also one of the largest cities of the world, and its population is growing rapidly at a rate of nearly 6% per annum. It contains the largest manufacturing sector and provides employment for over 45% of the skilled manpower of the country. The poor condition of the road network and of the public transport system affects severely the development of the city and the working and living conditions of the population, particularly the poorer part of it. A lack of adequate infrastructural expansion over the

years to cope with the increasing population has resulted in heavy traffic congestion within the city. Traveling within Lagos takes double and sometime triple the normal time, adversely affecting economic development and quality of life. To address this problem, there is need to diversify Lagos transport modes and encourage modal choice for passengers. Water transportation is a realistic and potentially effective option given that Lagos is blessed with abundant water bodies that could be harnessed to offer fast, safe, comfortable and cheaper water transportation services. In comparison with other major urban developments near or situated close to the sea and/or riverine and lagoon systems, the percentage of water transportation in the overall matrix of transports modes for Lagos State is well below 1%. Other cities like London, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Melbourne, Sydney, New York, etc. have a well established water transportation system, which roughly amounts to 5-10% of the overall commuter traffic flows. The state government has therefore made it its policy to develop, very rapidly, commuter water transportation routes in the state to arrest the decline in the quality of life in Lagos and sustain economic development in the state and ultimately the country. The routes are to be developed using a Public Private Partnership (PPP) delivery strategy, whereby the public sector (LAMATA on behalf of the state) finances infrastructure provision (jetties and landings, car-parks, access roads etc) whilst the private sector provides and operates ferry services to specifications to be provided by LAMATA. The Proposed Water Transportation Routes A detailed feasibility study of the development of ferry services is underway (by Royal Haskoning Ltd) in order to achieve the development and implementation of a detailed strategic plan for improving the use of waterways of Metropolitan Lagos for transport services, including establishing, formulating and implementing an appropriate regulatory framework, promotion of scheme for the encouragement of private sector participation in the provision of commuter water transport services. Seven main routes have been identified for development (see figure 1(Please create a hyperlink with the map)) of which 3 routes and the Marina terminal are earmarked as priority (create hyperlink to figure 2). The priority routes are; * Ikorodu to Marina (North Direct Line) * Ebutte Ojo (LASU) to Marina via Satellite Town (Ijegun Egba) (West Line) and * Ijede-Badore to Marina via Lekki and Falomo (East Line) There is also a plan to develop Osborne and turn it into a major terminal Interchange. (create hyperlink to the Osborne Interchange plan)

Proposed Water Commuter Routes

The 3 routes earmarked as Priority Repairs and Spot Improvements to Terminals and Waterways One of the major constraints on existing and potential water transport services is the inadequacy in the provision of safe and attractive terminal facilities. LAMATA is

therefore embarking on spot improvements along some routes to help shorten and /or make water commuting safer. The objectives of the Repairs and Spot Improvements to Terminals and Waterways are as follows; * Repairs or provision of water transport terminal/Interchange infrastructure that is safe for communities heavily dependent on water transport * Spot improvements along some routes. * To improve water safety and make it more attractive to users. Presently, LAMATA has almost completed the rehabilitation of two jetties; Agboyi-Ketu jetty in Oriade Local Council Development Area of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area and Ijegun-Egba jetty in Agboyi Ketu Local Council Development Area in Kofose Local Government Area of Lagos State. The rehabilitation works includes installation of sheet piles, construction of waiting shelters, electrification of the jetty area, resurfacing of access roads and provision of required traffic system measures amongst other things.

Old Agboyi-Ketu jetty

Agboyi-Ketu jetty after rehabilitation by LAMATA Also, LAMATA has engaged a contractor to rehabilitate additional two jetties at Epeme and Iya-Afin, both at Badagry Local Government. Work on these jetties will commence shortly. (Ferry terminal) A ferry slip is a specialized docking facility that receives a ferryboat or train ferry. A similar structure called a barge slip receives a barge or car float that is used to carry wheeled vehicles across a body of water.

A ferry slip is a specialized docking facility that receives a ferryboat or train ferry. A similar structure called a barge slip receives a barge or car float that is used to carry wheeled vehicles across a body of water. Often a ferry intended for motor vehicle transport will carry its own adjustable ramp when elevated it acts as a wave guard and is lowered to a horizontal position at the terminus to meet a permanent road segment that extends under water. In other cases, the ramp is installed at the ferry slip and is called a linkspan or apron. Such a ramp is adjustable to accommodate varying water heights and ferry loadings and to move it out of the way during approach and exit. If railcars are carried by the ferry the apron will have tracks for them.