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The Saint Johns River Ferry, also known as the Mayport Ferry, is an automobile ferry between Mayport and Fort George Island, two areas within Jacksonville, Florida. The voyage crosses the Saint Johns River about inland of the river's mouth and travels in an east-west direction for approximately on State Road A1A. It departs every half hour. The alternate driving route uses the toll-free Dames Point Bridge on I-295 but is long. The ferry has been operating since 1874.〔(1874 )〕〔("St. Johns River Ferry Jacksonville" ) Yahoo Travel guide〕 These vessels operated in the ferry fleet: *primary: (''Jean Ribault )'', built 1996, 40 vehicles, 206 passengers. *stand-by: ''(Blackbeard )'', built 1956, 42 vehicles, 207 passengers. Additional ferries which were in service included the ''Jean LaFitte'' which was a 26-car ferry, the ''Reliance'', the ''Sirus''. U.S.Coast Guard documents these vessels; some of the older ferries have been renamed to pass inspection. The history of the ferry dates back to 1874 according to the (New York Times ) and the library of Congress. The Florida Department of Transportation, which had always operated the service, had the Mayport Ferry line item budget vetoed by Governor Charlie Crist for 2007-2008.〔Manwell, Frank: ("Steamboat Bill, 2007" ) Encyclopædia Britannica, S. E. AND GULF PORTS〕 The City of Jacksonville had been contributing $200,000-300,000 for several years, so instead of allowing the service to end, the City of Jacksonville assumed full responsibility. However, they lost over $1 million in one year, and Mayor John Peyton announced that there was insufficient money available in the new budget. The Jacksonville Port Authority took over operation of the ferry for 2007 and lost half a million dollars each year, but uses port revenue, not tax money, to underwrite the operation.〔Dixon, Drew: ("Mayport ferry ridership down, some worried service could go away" ) Florida Times-Union, July 1, 2009〕 After taking over, the JPA decided to cut costs and sell the ''Blackbeard'', the backup vessel built in 1956. That meant that whenever the ''Jean Ribault'' had problems, ferry service would be suspended. On February 5, 2009 the ferry was put into dry dock for routine maintenance, but hull corrosion required an extra week of repairs, and there was no service for a month.〔Dixon, Drew: ("A month and $940,000 later, Mayport ferry back in service" ) Florida Times-Union, March 7, 2009〕 ==Memorial== The United States Merchant Marine Memorial stands on the ferry grounds on the Mayport side. The Memorial was erected on September 14, 1999. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mayport Ferry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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