2010 National Census of Ferry Operators

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Who Is Included In the 2010 Census of Ferry Operations

The geographic scope of the 2010 national census of ferry operations includes the U.S. and its possessions (i.e., the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the remaining territories, commonwealths and other political units of the U. S.). This includes political units that are an unincorporated territory of the U.S., maintain a Compact of Free Association with the U.S., or are a commonwealth associated with or in political union with the U.S. This currently includes the Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, and the United States Minor Outlying Islands including Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island. In addition to ferry operators providing domestic service within the U.S. and its possessions, operators providing services from locations in the U.S. and its possessions to and from a foreign country are also to be included.

Who Should Complete This Census Questionnaire

The specific types of ferry operations to be included within the scope of this census are those providing itinerant, fixed route, common carrier passenger and/or vehicle roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ferry service as well as railroad car float operations. More specifically, the following types of operations should complete the census questionnaire:

• Ferry or water taxi operations that have fixed routes between two or more different ports of call.
• Ferry or water taxi operations that provide service on a fixed schedule or on demand within a fixed window of time.
• Common Carriers (e.g. for-hire carriers) who serve the general public at reasonable rates and without discrimination.
• Railroad car float operations that utilize a tug and barge combination having two to three parallel tracks, onto which rail cars are rolled for transit across a body of water.

Who Should NOT Complete This Census Questionnaire

The following types of operations will not be included in the National Census of Ferry Operators:

• Non-itinerant ferry operations (e.g., “cruise-to-nowhere” services).
• Excursion services (e.g., whale watches, casino boats, day/dinner cruises, etc.).
• Passenger only water taxi services not operating on a fixed route.
• LoLo (Lift-on/Lift-off) freight/auto carrier services.
• Long distance passenger only cruise ship services.

If you are not sure whether your operation should not be included in the census, please contact the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, at 1-800-853-1351 or email Ferry@dot.gov.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics is conducting a nationwide census of ferry boat operators for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The information we collect from this census will only be used for statistical purposes and is authorized by law (Public Law 109-59, section 1801(e)). Your company’s participation in this census is strictly voluntary. By law (5 United States Code 552(b)(4)), any confidential business information we may collect will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone other than the employees and contractors who work on this census. Under federal law (18 United States Code 1905), employees and contractors working on this census are subject to penalties if they make public ANY information that could reveal confidential business information. At the end of this census questionnaire, we ask that you identify any information that you consider confidential business information. Please note that information which your business releases to the public on a routine basis or is in the public domain, generally, does not qualify as confidential business information. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 states that no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number for this survey is 2139-0009 (expires November 30, 2013).

1. Please ensure that the information below is complete and correct. If the information on a line is correct, simply check the box and move to the next line. If not, please use the space at right to add or correct the information.

2. Is your ferry operation publicly or privately OWNED?

3. Is your ferry operation publicly or privately OPERATED?

4. Please indicate the percentage of your operation’s annual revenues for calendar year 2009 that came from each of the following sources? (Allocations must add up to 100%).

5. Are your rates, fares, or tariffs regulated by a governing body, a government agency or state or local legislation?

6. Please add, delete or modify the information below to accurately reflect the ferry vessels in your fleet during calendar year 2009, including any unpowered barges and powered tugs used for ferry service. Vehicle capacity should be listed as the number of cars that each vessel can carry, assuming all cars are 20 feet long.

7. Please add, delete or modify the information below to accurately reflect fuel type and the typical operating speed (in knots) of each of the vessels in your operation. If you had any ferry vessels in calendar year 2009 that are not listed, please enter the information for those ferry vessels in the blank lines below. Please attach additional sheets, if needed.

8. Please add, delete or modify the information below to accurately reflect the name and location (city and state or province) of each ferry terminal served by your operation in calendar year 2009. Place a mark in the box below each mode of access that is within in one block walking distance of the terminal.

9. Please add, delete or modify the information below to accurately reflect individual route segments served by your operation during calendar year 2009. Please include the name of the departure and arrival terminals, the segment length, the time to travel the segment and the start and end dates during which the route segment was served.

10. Please write the average number of trips per day for each route segment served by your operation during calendar year 2009 in the boxes below.

11. Please indicate the yearly total and average daily number of passenger and vehicle boardings for each route segment served by your operation during 2009.

12. Please place an X in boxes below to indicate months that comprise the peak season for each route segment during calendar year 2009.

13. Please place an X in boxes below to indicate days of the week where each route segment typically experienced surges in ridership during the calendar year 2009, and write in the average number of passenger and vehicle boardings during these surges.

14. If applicable, please indicate time periods during weekdays when route segments routinely experienced surges in ridership during calendar year 2009 (for example, a morning or evening rush hour), and the average number of passenger and vehicle boardings for each period.

15. If applicable, please indicate time periods during weekends when route segments routinely experienced surges in ridership during calendar year 2009 (for example, a morning or evening rush hour), and the average number of passenger and vehicle boardings for each period.

16. If any of the terminal buildings used by your operation are also used by other companies, please give the name of the terminal, the name of the other companies, and the purpose for which they use the terminal building.

17. If there are items in this questionnaire that you believe ask for business-sensitive information, please list the item number(s) and a brief description of the sensitive information in the box below. (Please note: Information that you release to the public on a routine basis generally does not qualify as business-sensitive information).

Thank you for completing the 2010 NCFO questionnaire!