MBTA Boat

MBTA Boat

The Edward Rowe Snow arriving at Long Wharf on the F4 route
Locale	Greater Boston
Waterway	Boston Harbor
Transit type	Passenger ferry
Operator	Boston Harbor Cruises (under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)
No. of lines	3 MBTA-funded routes 1 locally funded route
No. of terminals	8
Daily ridership	4,464 (2013)

The MBTA Boat system is a public boat service providing water transportation in the Greater Boston area via Boston Harbor. Both inner harbor and longer distance commuter ferries are operated. The services are operated by Boston Harbor Cruises under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Current service runs from two wharves on the Boston waterfront to the Boston Navy Yard, Logan Airport, Hewitt's Cove in Hingham, and Pemberton Point in Hull. Two additional seasonal routes, not funded by the MBTA but included on some MBTA documents, run from Boston to Lynn and Salem.

In fiscal year 2013, the MBTA-funded portion of the system carried 4,464 passengers per weekday, accounting for 0.32% of total fixed-route MBTA ridership.

Two additional routes - the F3 Lovejoy Wharf - Boston Navy Yard and F5 Lovejoy Wharf - World Trade Center via Moakley Courthouse - began operation in 1997 during Big Dig construction. They were discontinued on January 21, 2005 due to low ridership. The F5X Lovejoy Wharf - World Trade Center Express route was not funded by the MBTA and was run until February 24, 2006.

Ferry service to East Boston began in the 1830s as a connection to the Eastern Railroad, and ferries ran until 1952. Service ran from a wharf at Lewis Street to Long Wharf from 1995 to 1997; it was discontinued due to extremely low ridership as the Blue Line provided a faster and more frequent service along the same corridor.