(January 15, 2006) — Now that Rochester is out of the ferry business, could a private company fill that void? And could it stay in business without financial support from the government?

Those questions have been on the minds of local leaders and citizens since Tuesday, when Rochester Mayor Robert J. Duffy pulled the plug on a ferry service funded by millions of taxpayer dollars — and said the city would welcome, but not subsidize, a private attempt at restoring ferry service to Toronto.

"If the viability is there, if the market is there, then my sense is a service operator will come in to fill that," Duffy said Thursday.

The viability of and market for a private ferry service between Rochester and Toronto could be there — but would be risky — according to local business and civic leaders, and national ferry experts.

In fact, proposals to operate a different ferry service here are already being discussed, said John "Dutch" Summers, who chairs Rochester's Rump Group of local business and academic leaders. (Heaven help us.  Not THESE guys again.)

"There will be serious consideration by the business community to see if this is viable," he said. "As members of the community, we think the long-term viability of a ferry, run as any other service is on the Great Lakes, has a lot of merit." (DO tell, Dutch.  Pray, WHY does another ferry have 'a lot of merit'?)

Summers said he was not sure whether the business community would endorse a ferry project that needed a public subsidy, but he said leaders "might consider it" if the public cost is fixed in advance, as opposed to being on the hook for any incurring debts.

Duffy stated clearly Tuesday that "anyone coming in would pretty much have to be able to finance this operation on their own. I don't think anyone could expect the city to be investing large amounts of money at this time."

But at least one ferry expert says that even a smaller, less expensive ferry might not turn a profit without government handouts.

"It's challenging, because most ferry systems are subsidized," said John Waggoner, president of Hornblower Marine Services of New Albany, Ind. "It is very, very difficult to have them be stand-alone and make money. It's not impossible, but it's very difficult."

Ferry 'growth curve'

There is interest in crossing Lake Ontario. During its abbreviated 2005 sailing season from June 30 to Dec. 12, Rochester's ferry, the Spirit of Ontario — aka the Cat and previously known as the Breeze — carried 241,952 passengers. And Ken Lundy, chief of operations and engineering for the Toronto Port Authority, said he hoped to see a return of ferry service between Rochester and Toronto. Despite a $17 billion, 30-year plan for projects to develop the Toronto waterfront, Canadian officials were not ready to subsidize the effort when Rochester ran the ship, with the exception of lowering some fees they required.

Bay Ferries Great Lakes President and CEO Mark MacDonald was ambivalent when asked last week whether it would pursue a ferry service here. His company, along with Northumberland Ferries, has operated successful ferry services in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes for more than 60 years.

John Groundwater, executive director of the Passenger Vessel Association, said U.S. ferry services are growing, in part, as an alternative to traffic gridlock in many communities. In 2000, there were 225 ferry companies operating 677 vessels, carrying 115 million passengers.

"The ferry industry is definitely on a growth curve. There are a lot of ferry companies in this country that are extremely successful. Some are public companies, some are private."

But he noted every city and market has different needs.

"The ferry business can be a very tough business, so you need a solid business plan coming into it," Groundwater said.

Dennis Mullen, president and chief executive of the Greater Rochester Enterprise, said he wouldn't be surprised to see another company attempt to restart ferry service here.

"I think, with the legacy of entrepreneurship in this community, that the community could accept another attempt, with this caveat: it will be scrutinized to a much higher level, and justifiably so," Mullen said.

If the business plan included an element of government support or subsidy, Mullen said, selling it to the public and business community becomes "a tougher battle, because of the experience here. My personal opinion is if it needed to be funded by the city or the county, I don't have a lot of appetite for that, because I don't believe that's a priority right now."

Waggoner and his company are intimately familiar with the Spirit of Ontario and the Rochester-Toronto market: They trained the crew and operated the vessel for its original owner, Canadian American Transportation Systems, until shortly before CATS shut down the service in September 2004.

Is smaller better?

Hornblower also was brought in by the Duffy administration in recent weeks to help the new mayor decide what to do. His advice: The $42.5 million Spirit of Ontario, with room for 774 passengers and 238 cars, was just "too much vessel for that route."

"I said, 'Look, Mr. Mayor, if I was in your shoes, what we would put here is a vessel that carries 400 passenger and only 60 cars, and has a capital cost of $20 (million) or $21 million.'"

Waggoner said a vessel of that size is now under design for use in a Great Lakes market that he declined to identify, other than to say it was not Rochester-Toronto.

The smaller vessel requires a crew of seven or eight versus 22 to 26 for the Spirit of Ontario, and it would cost $3 million a year instead of $10 million to operate.

"It changes your financials dramatically," he said.

Hornblower now operates an even smaller passenger-and-car ferry — the Lake Express, which carries up to 260 passengers and 46 cars across Lake Michigan, saving a five-hour trip.

Whether a ferry service could be subsidized by a transportation authority remains in question. Mark Aesch, CEO of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), did not return calls for this story.

A subsidy?

Donald Riley, former CEO for the RGRTA, said he was asked to coordinate a $6.6 million state grant for the ferry for its first buyer, CATS President Dominick Delucia. "We refused to sign," Riley said. "We were expressing serious concerns from the beginning." The city ended up funneling the state's grant for the ship, and Riley was criticized by the governor's office as well as former Rochester Mayor William A. Johnson Jr., who called him an obstructionist.

Riley, who grew up on Lake Ontario in Greece, said a 300-day ferry run was not reasonable.

"It's ridiculous," he said. "There's a psychology to the lake. In the fall, the lake closes and people focus on football."  (Well, half right anyway.  In the fall, the lake closes.  Let's not jump to pure assumptions.)

And a smaller vessel wouldn't provide the smooth ride those aboard Rochester's ferry had.

"That body of water can be nasty. You've got to be prepared for a rough ride. It's 100 miles of open water."

Instead of having a government subsidy for running a ferry service, Riley said, an argument could be made to have a subsidy on the ticket prices, as is done for bridge tolls.

Yet Riley has doubts that a ferry service would work "unless you have a solid commuter-based tradition. Many ferry services are based on a daily need to go back and forth."  (Insane.  How many Torontonians/Rochesterians have a NEED to commute daily to the other shore?  Is that sufficient to support a '$20 (million) to $21 million' vessel with an 'estimated' $3 million annual operating cost?)

Sandy Parker, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, said any ferry proposal ought to have a sound business plan.

"I don't know if there's another entity out there that could come in. But I would never close the door to say this market could not handle the service."

GLIVADAS@DemocratandChronicle.com
SORR@DemocratandChronicle.com

Includes reporting by staff writer Brian Sharp.