In the US, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle come to mind as systems with relatively important ferry systems.
New Orleans, Tampa, and Boston are some other cities with ferries although they are not as critical to the transit system.
Internationally theres a ton. Istanbul, Bangkok, Vancouver, and Hong Kong come to mind specifically.
Maritime cities often start out this way, and it really fosters a human-scale interface between the coastline and the city. Hong Kong also initially had ferries as the primary form of transportation until the subway was built under the bay, and you can still use them as a cheaper but slower alternative.
I wouldn't call them the backbone of the system, but they do carry 600.000/day ish, and it is the world's largest public ferry system https://cdn-gaecj.nitrocdn.com/JMwuRIbFKRytZpZBQQGkRvqmTfGyKhHA/assets/images/optimized/rev-54f87f8/turkeytravelplanner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Istanbul-Sefer-Haritasi-Line-Map.png
Metrobüs and Marmaray are more the backbone of the system, carrying a combined ±1.700.000 per day, and both crossing the bosphorus.
This is a fun little quip but honestly too much imo.
If you wanna shit on the current state of the T, that’s fine, but it’s still easily one of the top 5 most usable systems in the country. Honestly just improving the state of repair and adding two major capital investments - regional rail and an urban ring line - would be enough to make it a borderline world class system.
The ferries on the other hand are basically pointless in their current state.
The green line - if you can exclude the shutdowns in the past year - is the most ridden light rail system in the country.
It’s not without faults - it desperately needs signal priority on the street running sections - but it clearly measures pretty favorably against all other light rails in the country.
> The ferries on the other hand are basically pointless in their current state.
My recollection of them from 25 years ago as a tourist was that they were convenient, though I didn't have a lot of perspective.
Despite its overall poorly planned mass transit infrastructure, Metro Manila has a ferry system that navigates the length of the river in the middle of the Metro area.
Shanghai too, but its between two points instead of a route based system, and it uses the same transit card as the subways, busses, and taxis.
This was the first city that came to mind for me. Like yea Vancouver has the seabus and London had some of the Thames ones. But Sydney is a pretty comprehensive public transit service with boats.
And the reason being how complex the coastline of the harbour is. There are plenty of peninsulas sticking into the harbour where taking the ferry from the point is faster and more direct than taking the long way round on a bus or making your way uphill to a train station.
Translink Seabus in Vancouver, Montreal River Shuttles by ARTM, Toronto Island Ferry though not connected to the Presto paying network, are just some in Canada.
No, it's not really a tourist thing, it's regularly scheduled service along the Thames that you can pay for with your Oyster card. It's kind of fun to take as a tourist, but it can still be practical.
I've never lived in London, just been a tourist there, but if you look at the map you can definitely find areas where it's a practical option, like south Chelsea across to Battersea, or some of the area around Canary Wharf.
In Sweden we have cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg that all have extensive ferry networks. Then we have smaller cities at the coasts and by lakes that have smaller ferry connections.
Copenhagen 🇩🇰 has a ferry line called the ~~riverbus~~ harbour bus.
Kiel 🇩🇪 has the Fördefähren, a system of ferry services in their bay.
Hamburg 🇩🇪 has an extensive ferry network in their harbour area and up and down the Elbe river as well as the bay, and in its channels.
And of course
Stockholm 🇸🇪 has a huge ferry network spanning basically the whole city, as it consists of a lot of islands in the Stockholm bay. The system is even operated by multiple operators.
(Also I had the pleasure of using all those systems, and I really liked all of them).
The Casco Bay Island Transit District runs five ferries that serve six islands in Casco Bay, Maine, originating from Portland. Five of the six islands served have year-round permanent residents so service is 365 days a year (including all federal holidays). Some of the Greater Portland Metro busses serve the Maine State Pier where CBITD is located.
Two of the CBITD vessels can carry vehicles, and two of them have onboard cranes which are primarily used for loading freight, which includes mail and island residents’ groceries
I grew up on one of these islands so spent many years taking these ferries to get pretty much anywhere, including weekly shopping, dr’s appointments, and to school every day in middle school
Second longest continously running saltwater ferry in the world - Halifax/Dartmouth
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeEqgY6680](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeEqgY6680)
Both Sydney and Brisbane in Australia have extensive ferry networks that are integrated into the broader transit network. In Sydney ferries play a major commuter role bringing people from the Northern Beaches and North Shore to the CBD
Kochi India water metro https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochi_Water_Metro#:~:text=It%20was%20officially%20inaugurated%20and,being%20implemented%20in%20the%20world.
Stockholm has maybe the most extensive system. At least 7 passenger lines inside of the city and at least 30 in the wider region (plus several car ferries)
There is also the Southern Moreton Bay Island Ferry which starts at Redland Bay on the Mainland and serves the nearby islands and is on the Translink Fare System
Geneva has a few ferries across the lake that are part of the transit system, and can be used with a pass that also allows access to the buses and trams
In my own country both Auckland and Wellington provide some level of ferry service, the former's being connected to the same transit card (AT HOP) used by its bus and train network which makes things significantly less painful.
I think San Francisco does, and Seattle is a definite. I've been to Seattle several times and for some islands that the ferries go to, it's absolutely essential. The ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island is 35-45 minutes, but to drive, you have to go south through Tacoma, then back north up highway 3, and around to the island's north end because there's no bridge at the south end. Driving the entire way is at least an hour and thirty minutes.
Several of the ferries in the Seattle/Puget Sound region are the only feasible way to connect communities (e.g., the ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle is quick compared to going down to cross the bridge into Tacoma and heading back up) - they’re not only critical to public transit but also to driving and the greater regional transportation system as a whole which I feel makes them somewhat unique
If you're traveling for fun or casually it is the best way to get across Puget Sound.
Lots of commuters find the schedules increasingly unreliable especially to get from Seattle to Bremerton to the shipyard. Aging vessels, lack of staffing etc
Another obstacle is My friend/ neighbor who works for the navy said that WSF is not eligible for federal employee transit subsidy. Not sure if the passenger only boats are eligible?
Regionally, ferries are really important around the Puget Sound (Seattle), allowing people from the west sound (like Bainbridge Island and Bremerton) to get to Seattle quickly.
I’ve used the San Francisco-Oakland ferry. It’s pretty nice to watch the sunset from the back of the boat while enjoying a beer from the on-board bar. The lights from the cars stuck in traffic light up the Bay Bridge nicely!
In the "Delta" area of the Tigre district in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires there are multiple ferries that are crucial to transportation in the zone
Savannah Belles Ferry in Savannah GA. Free ferry by the local transit. 3 stops in a triangular route across the Savannah River. 30 min headway with 20 min travel time.
Feels like every city with any kind of water has ferrys
And Paris is just, standing there, trying to resuscitate its ferry boats every now and then but they're always used by tourists, and only tourists. Even if they're included in the regular transit pass, nobody ever uses them to commute.
Antwerp has DeWaterbus [(Dutch wikipedia)](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWaterbus?wprov=sfla1), which has one "line" along the Scheldt river.
A route along the Albert Canal was tried, but wasn't very popular apparently...
I really wish Philly had a couple. Penns landing-Camden waterfront is there but it’s $8 and only runs each way once an hour, more of a tourist novelty than practical transit (you can get between them with transit but it involves 2 transfers and is quite annoying), navy yard to National Park, torresdale to Delanco, port Richmond to Pennsauken, torresdale to riverside/delanco, etc.
In Newport Beach, CA, there is a [ferry](https://www.balboaislandferry.com) connecting Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula in the mainland, which is heavily used by residents on the island.
If you look at the map, Balboa Island faces the mainland in two directions: there is a bridge connecting the Island and the downtown area of Newport Beach, but the only way to get to the Peninsula from the Island (without an insane detour) is via the ferry.
What amuses me about the SF ferries is that there are one or two tourist ferries down the waterfront towards the touristy piers that will take you across the bay to Sausalito for something like $17. But about a half mile away back near all the other transit services (BART, Muni Metro, buses) a Golden Gate Transit ferry will take you there for more like $8 round trip. (You do need a transit card to get that fare, but they're easy to get.) True, you don't get a voice over the PA announcing "That's Alcatraz" as you pass it, but you can't have everything..
It's a nice trip with views of the bay including the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. Very reasonably priced.
(Disclaimer - those pricees are from about ten years ago.)
San Diego has a ferry between downtown and Coronado but it is owned and operated by a private company, not MTS. But on weekday trips before 9:00 AM MTS reimburses the ferry operator for the fare, plus you get a coupon good for a return trip later that same day. So if you use it to commute, it's like it's part of the system. And you don't even need a fare card to ride it. They ask passengers for nothing but simply take a headcount for MTS.
Lots. There’s a high likelihood that any major city built on a coast will use ferries. Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong come to mind immediately. Even London has Uber boats.
You've already gotten a million examples. Pretty much every major city where ferries make sense geographically have them as a mode of transit. The better question is, which cities could, but don't use ferries in their transit system?
San Francisco, i.e. SF Bay Ferry, plans on expanding its system to new locations. As for when, that’s unclear.
Source: https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/news/ferry-expansion-enhancement-electrification-service-vision-press-release
Portsmouth in England. It’s an island connected via bridges to the mainland only. There are ferries which connect to the adjacent towns on the peninsula and island to either side, as well as the Isle of Wight across the Solent. All used regularly by commuters.
Sydney, Istanbul, San Francisco, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Zurich, Budapest, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Boston, and many many more.
It's basically only one. 991 & 992 are the same line (just different directions) and 993 only operates as a shuttle between two piers on that line when there are concerts at the opera.
Liverpool! There’s a daily direct cross-river ferry service for commuters from the Wirral:
[https://www.merseyferries.co.uk/commuters/](https://www.merseyferries.co.uk/commuters/)
There are many cities, like London, Rotterdam and Bangkok. Recently visited bangkok, so heres how its like:
There are very affordable ferries run on different rivers and by different companies, with a differing level of service. You could pay more for a different ferry company to take you in an air conditioned ferry. In Bangkok, there are tons of landmarks located along the river, like train connections (Bang Pho, Thon Buri, Sathorn-Saphan Taksin), big malls and landmarks, so it makes sense to have ferries. There are also ferries run on smaller rivers within the cities that provide transport too. You can pay via the Rabbit LINE card, or cash iirc.
[Port Aransas, TX](https://www.portaransas.org/plan/transportation/ferry/)
Not a city, but the state of Alaska has a ferry system in part because it has relatively few roads. (It also has 6 times more pilots per capita than the rest of the US and every village with 100 people seems to have an airstrip.)
In the US, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle come to mind as systems with relatively important ferry systems. New Orleans, Tampa, and Boston are some other cities with ferries although they are not as critical to the transit system. Internationally theres a ton. Istanbul, Bangkok, Vancouver, and Hong Kong come to mind specifically.
Istanbuls ferries are the backbone of their transit system
Maritime cities often start out this way, and it really fosters a human-scale interface between the coastline and the city. Hong Kong also initially had ferries as the primary form of transportation until the subway was built under the bay, and you can still use them as a cheaper but slower alternative.
I wouldn't call them the backbone of the system, but they do carry 600.000/day ish, and it is the world's largest public ferry system https://cdn-gaecj.nitrocdn.com/JMwuRIbFKRytZpZBQQGkRvqmTfGyKhHA/assets/images/optimized/rev-54f87f8/turkeytravelplanner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Istanbul-Sefer-Haritasi-Line-Map.png Metrobüs and Marmaray are more the backbone of the system, carrying a combined ±1.700.000 per day, and both crossing the bosphorus.
Don't forget Sydney and London
London? Lived there 10 years. Never took one.
Amsterdam as well
Super small, but Baltimore has it as well. Only has like 3 routes that are fairly niche, but I'd still count it!
Probably about the same scale as the Washington, DC one
Venice is nothing but ferries
Boston
It exists but it definitely needs to be expanded
"It exists and needs to be expanded" sums up the transit situation in Boston as whole
So true. I’ve been to Boston only a couple of times but I’m always struck by how…blah…MBTA is
They fixed that. Some trains now have googly eyes. Really!
I’ll be there in a few weeks…I can’t wait?
This is a fun little quip but honestly too much imo. If you wanna shit on the current state of the T, that’s fine, but it’s still easily one of the top 5 most usable systems in the country. Honestly just improving the state of repair and adding two major capital investments - regional rail and an urban ring line - would be enough to make it a borderline world class system. The ferries on the other hand are basically pointless in their current state.
Interesting point but... Green Line
The green line - if you can exclude the shutdowns in the past year - is the most ridden light rail system in the country. It’s not without faults - it desperately needs signal priority on the street running sections - but it clearly measures pretty favorably against all other light rails in the country.
> The ferries on the other hand are basically pointless in their current state. My recollection of them from 25 years ago as a tourist was that they were convenient, though I didn't have a lot of perspective.
+1 for washington state ferries! There’s also a water taxi that will take you between downtown and west seattle.
Sydney Harbour by Ferry (Australia) https://youtu.be/UIF2XK0myGI
Auckland and Wellington NZ too in addition to others listed here and below
Boston, Pittsburgh with have.
do long beach water taxi count?
Despite its overall poorly planned mass transit infrastructure, Metro Manila has a ferry system that navigates the length of the river in the middle of the Metro area. Shanghai too, but its between two points instead of a route based system, and it uses the same transit card as the subways, busses, and taxis.
Philadelphia also has a ferry! It's only open during the warmer months, but it's a direct connection to downtown Camden.
philly could probably use more ferries honestly
Sydney has a great ferry system.
This was the first city that came to mind for me. Like yea Vancouver has the seabus and London had some of the Thames ones. But Sydney is a pretty comprehensive public transit service with boats.
And the reason being how complex the coastline of the harbour is. There are plenty of peninsulas sticking into the harbour where taking the ferry from the point is faster and more direct than taking the long way round on a bus or making your way uphill to a train station.
Translink Seabus in Vancouver, Montreal River Shuttles by ARTM, Toronto Island Ferry though not connected to the Presto paying network, are just some in Canada.
Don't forget the Halifax ferries!!
Oldest salt water ferry in North America!!
Was just going to say this but I knew someone was going to beat me to it. Highly recommend this, OP!
Hamburg, Berlin, Zürich have ferries as a part of public transport and integrated into the ticket pricing scheme. And OF COURSE Venice
Genève as well.
And Bordeaux.
London uses it with the Uber boats on the Thames. Can be very convenient depending on where you go and it’s the same transit card.
It does cost quite a bit though, even if they do food and drink on board.
It's expensive, but it is a cheaper way to see London from the Thames than a river cruise, so I have to give it that.
So it's a tourist thing like the open top buses. Does that count?
No, it's not really a tourist thing, it's regularly scheduled service along the Thames that you can pay for with your Oyster card. It's kind of fun to take as a tourist, but it can still be practical.
How practical? There's going to be a bus or tube that does it faster/cheaper.
I've never lived in London, just been a tourist there, but if you look at the map you can definitely find areas where it's a practical option, like south Chelsea across to Battersea, or some of the area around Canary Wharf.
And don't forget the Woolwich ferry
In Sweden we have cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg that all have extensive ferry networks. Then we have smaller cities at the coasts and by lakes that have smaller ferry connections.
Halifax, Nova Scotia has the oldest saltwater ferry in the world as part of our transit system.
New York City and Prague
Sydney’s ferries are pretty well integrated into the transit network
everybody missing the obvious european city built on an archipelago: stockholm
Chicago Water Taxi is \~$2.5 per ride with the commuter pass.
Sydney, Australia. One of the most fun types of public transport.
Sydney Seattle SF Istanbul
[Amsterdam GVB Ferry](https://assets.ctfassets.net/d6yaib7us1l3/eJFhEY2ryO5XnJdSu1dmu/407b5a29f40051407ddf8fb9d542ffc4/IJveren-kaart-GVB-2024.pdf) [Rotterdam RET Ferrybus](https://www.waterbus.nl/lijnen)
Copenhagen 🇩🇰 has a ferry line called the ~~riverbus~~ harbour bus. Kiel 🇩🇪 has the Fördefähren, a system of ferry services in their bay. Hamburg 🇩🇪 has an extensive ferry network in their harbour area and up and down the Elbe river as well as the bay, and in its channels. And of course Stockholm 🇸🇪 has a huge ferry network spanning basically the whole city, as it consists of a lot of islands in the Stockholm bay. The system is even operated by multiple operators. (Also I had the pleasure of using all those systems, and I really liked all of them).
>Copenhagen 🇩🇰 has a ferry line called the riverbus. Harbour bus :)
Sorry, my bad, I just misremembered the name 😅
You're fine :)
Berlin does, Hamburg does as well.
And some crossing the Elbe in and around Dresden, including one into Czech Republic.
Most cities in Europe which lie on water I believe. I only a few days ago rode a transit boat in Gothenburg
Venice uses vaporettos which are basically boat buses, if you count that lol
Ferry’s are a pretty big deal in Seattle.
Woolwich Ferry in London
The Casco Bay Island Transit District runs five ferries that serve six islands in Casco Bay, Maine, originating from Portland. Five of the six islands served have year-round permanent residents so service is 365 days a year (including all federal holidays). Some of the Greater Portland Metro busses serve the Maine State Pier where CBITD is located. Two of the CBITD vessels can carry vehicles, and two of them have onboard cranes which are primarily used for loading freight, which includes mail and island residents’ groceries I grew up on one of these islands so spent many years taking these ferries to get pretty much anywhere, including weekly shopping, dr’s appointments, and to school every day in middle school
Second longest continously running saltwater ferry in the world - Halifax/Dartmouth [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeEqgY6680](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeEqgY6680)
Miles in Transit rode the Halifax ferries recently. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yki-ceE5gYA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yki-ceE5gYA)
Amsterdam has free ferries crossing the Ij every several minutes — and they’re usually crowded.
Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, London, Venice.. maybe more?
Both Sydney and Brisbane in Australia have extensive ferry networks that are integrated into the broader transit network. In Sydney ferries play a major commuter role bringing people from the Northern Beaches and North Shore to the CBD
Kochi India water metro https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochi_Water_Metro#:~:text=It%20was%20officially%20inaugurated%20and,being%20implemented%20in%20the%20world.
Boston has a few lines from downtown over to Eastie and Charlestown. And a few longer commuter lines to the north and south shore.
Stockholm has maybe the most extensive system. At least 7 passenger lines inside of the city and at least 30 in the wider region (plus several car ferries)
Lisbon, Portugal Our boats are really important to connect both sides of Tagus estuary
Brisbane has it's ferrys and it's citycat
There is also the Southern Moreton Bay Island Ferry which starts at Redland Bay on the Mainland and serves the nearby islands and is on the Translink Fare System
kochi!!!
Geneva has a few ferries across the lake that are part of the transit system, and can be used with a pass that also allows access to the buses and trams
Amsterdam
In my own country both Auckland and Wellington provide some level of ferry service, the former's being connected to the same transit card (AT HOP) used by its bus and train network which makes things significantly less painful.
I think San Francisco does, and Seattle is a definite. I've been to Seattle several times and for some islands that the ferries go to, it's absolutely essential. The ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island is 35-45 minutes, but to drive, you have to go south through Tacoma, then back north up highway 3, and around to the island's north end because there's no bridge at the south end. Driving the entire way is at least an hour and thirty minutes.
Several of the ferries in the Seattle/Puget Sound region are the only feasible way to connect communities (e.g., the ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle is quick compared to going down to cross the bridge into Tacoma and heading back up) - they’re not only critical to public transit but also to driving and the greater regional transportation system as a whole which I feel makes them somewhat unique
If you're traveling for fun or casually it is the best way to get across Puget Sound. Lots of commuters find the schedules increasingly unreliable especially to get from Seattle to Bremerton to the shipyard. Aging vessels, lack of staffing etc
The fast ferries are basically picking up the slack. Vashon is also getting a boost in water taxi service because the car ferries are so unreliable.
Another obstacle is My friend/ neighbor who works for the navy said that WSF is not eligible for federal employee transit subsidy. Not sure if the passenger only boats are eligible?
I’m actually interested in going to Vashon now that there’s more ferry service
Regionally, ferries are really important around the Puget Sound (Seattle), allowing people from the west sound (like Bainbridge Island and Bremerton) to get to Seattle quickly.
Seattle!
I know NYC does. For example, the Staten Island Ferry is free to ride.
NYC Ferry is the main ferry service nowadays.
A resource on US ferries from USDOT: [https://www.bts.gov/NCFO](https://www.bts.gov/NCFO)
Oslo, Norway
I’ve used the San Francisco-Oakland ferry. It’s pretty nice to watch the sunset from the back of the boat while enjoying a beer from the on-board bar. The lights from the cars stuck in traffic light up the Bay Bridge nicely!
I suppose the Rocky Hill ferry counts for Hartford CT
Tampa/St Pete has a seasonal one (sorta). It's more of a tourist attraction or method of getting people to either Lighting or Rays games.
Kochi in india has a water metro alongside a conventional heavy rails metro and operates it as a subway style network
Naples has a ferry network called "metro of the seas", which sounds really cute :)
Not technically one city but Malta uses lots of ferries and includes them with bus fees
In the "Delta" area of the Tigre district in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires there are multiple ferries that are crucial to transportation in the zone
Savannah Belles Ferry in Savannah GA. Free ferry by the local transit. 3 stops in a triangular route across the Savannah River. 30 min headway with 20 min travel time.
copenhagen has the "harbor bus" (aka a ferry) that is the main public transit in certain neighborhoods not currently served by the metro
It's not a city but Disney in Florida has an elaborate transit system with buses, monorails, a ropeway and ferries.
Ferries make up in expensive what they lack in effective.
Feels like every city with any kind of water has ferrys And Paris is just, standing there, trying to resuscitate its ferry boats every now and then but they're always used by tourists, and only tourists. Even if they're included in the regular transit pass, nobody ever uses them to commute.
Antwerp has DeWaterbus [(Dutch wikipedia)](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWaterbus?wprov=sfla1), which has one "line" along the Scheldt river. A route along the Albert Canal was tried, but wasn't very popular apparently...
I really wish Philly had a couple. Penns landing-Camden waterfront is there but it’s $8 and only runs each way once an hour, more of a tourist novelty than practical transit (you can get between them with transit but it involves 2 transfers and is quite annoying), navy yard to National Park, torresdale to Delanco, port Richmond to Pennsauken, torresdale to riverside/delanco, etc.
In Newport Beach, CA, there is a [ferry](https://www.balboaislandferry.com) connecting Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula in the mainland, which is heavily used by residents on the island. If you look at the map, Balboa Island faces the mainland in two directions: there is a bridge connecting the Island and the downtown area of Newport Beach, but the only way to get to the Peninsula from the Island (without an insane detour) is via the ferry.
Bangkok has a great ferry on the river and some smaller boats on the canals that can get you to a lot of places that the metro/skytrain can’t.
Bermuda
What amuses me about the SF ferries is that there are one or two tourist ferries down the waterfront towards the touristy piers that will take you across the bay to Sausalito for something like $17. But about a half mile away back near all the other transit services (BART, Muni Metro, buses) a Golden Gate Transit ferry will take you there for more like $8 round trip. (You do need a transit card to get that fare, but they're easy to get.) True, you don't get a voice over the PA announcing "That's Alcatraz" as you pass it, but you can't have everything.. It's a nice trip with views of the bay including the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. Very reasonably priced. (Disclaimer - those pricees are from about ten years ago.)
San Diego has a ferry between downtown and Coronado but it is owned and operated by a private company, not MTS. But on weekday trips before 9:00 AM MTS reimburses the ferry operator for the fare, plus you get a coupon good for a return trip later that same day. So if you use it to commute, it's like it's part of the system. And you don't even need a fare card to ride it. They ask passengers for nothing but simply take a headcount for MTS.
Metro Manila Pasig River Ferry System (its free!)
Shanghai
Lots. There’s a high likelihood that any major city built on a coast will use ferries. Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong come to mind immediately. Even London has Uber boats.
You've already gotten a million examples. Pretty much every major city where ferries make sense geographically have them as a mode of transit. The better question is, which cities could, but don't use ferries in their transit system?
San Francisco, i.e. SF Bay Ferry, plans on expanding its system to new locations. As for when, that’s unclear. Source: https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/news/ferry-expansion-enhancement-electrification-service-vision-press-release
Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden,… Fun fact Berlin has one that is a rowing boat near Müggelsee.
Portsmouth in England. It’s an island connected via bridges to the mainland only. There are ferries which connect to the adjacent towns on the peninsula and island to either side, as well as the Isle of Wight across the Solent. All used regularly by commuters.
It’s a much loved mode of transit here in the SF Bay Area. They recently announced expansion plans for more terminals and ferry lines.
Yeah, Gotham City, for example. Although I think they had some sort of an incident in 2008...
Lisbon has some ferry routes to cross Tagus river ans connect the suburbs to Central Lisbon
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dordrecht
Zürich has electric ferries.
Kochi metro https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochi_Water_Metro https://watermetro.co.in
Hamburg is one I immediately thought of
Sydney
Lisbon also has ferries from one side of the river to the other
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^DreamingofBouncer: *Lisbon also has* *Ferries from one side of the* *River to the other* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Sydney, Istanbul, San Francisco, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Zurich, Budapest, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Boston, and many many more.
Istanbul is lovely to explore via ferries
Seattle and San Francisco
Amsterdam has small ferries just for bikes / pedestrians. It’s pretty sweet.
In Vancouver we have the Seabus(TM)
New Orleans.
Washington D.C. has water taxis.
Savanah, GA. Only has one route, going to three locations. But it's free, and runs every 30 min.
Buffalo has a seasonal bike ferry, but it’s more of a tourist thing than as a way to commute.
I love using the Ferry in New Orleans
Nobody’s said Copenhagen yet? Damn. Love their ferries.
I live 1h from Cph in Sweden, work with public transport and I didn't know Cph had ferries...
There's only one infrequent line
There’s three lines, one of which is restricted to weekdays I believe, but the others run 7 days a week.
It's basically only one. 991 & 992 are the same line (just different directions) and 993 only operates as a shuttle between two piers on that line when there are concerts at the opera.
Liverpool! There’s a daily direct cross-river ferry service for commuters from the Wirral: [https://www.merseyferries.co.uk/commuters/](https://www.merseyferries.co.uk/commuters/)
There are many cities, like London, Rotterdam and Bangkok. Recently visited bangkok, so heres how its like: There are very affordable ferries run on different rivers and by different companies, with a differing level of service. You could pay more for a different ferry company to take you in an air conditioned ferry. In Bangkok, there are tons of landmarks located along the river, like train connections (Bang Pho, Thon Buri, Sathorn-Saphan Taksin), big malls and landmarks, so it makes sense to have ferries. There are also ferries run on smaller rivers within the cities that provide transport too. You can pay via the Rabbit LINE card, or cash iirc.
Baltimore has a couple routes around the Harbor
Google could answer this question for you very quick
wa state hwy 20 includes a ferry route and kitsap transit has a foot ferry,, sorry no pix
Long Beach, CA - [https://ridelbt.com/watertaxis/](https://ridelbt.com/watertaxis/)
[Port Aransas, TX](https://www.portaransas.org/plan/transportation/ferry/) Not a city, but the state of Alaska has a ferry system in part because it has relatively few roads. (It also has 6 times more pilots per capita than the rest of the US and every village with 100 people seems to have an airstrip.)
prague has a few ferries. not too many but there are some