Transactions Newsletter

A few MTC commissioners and staff braved a cold and blustery March day to ride a potential ferry of the future. The Slice, a 105-foot-long, 55-foot- wide vessel that rides atop four submerged pods and looks like something out of Star Wars, was designed and built for the U.S. Navy. Following its use as a floating helicopter landing pad by the Marines in the recent Operation Urban Warrior exercise, the Slice's designers and builders -- Lockheed Martin and Pacific Marine -- offered tours around the Bay to tout its advantages as a passenger ferry. Powered by two engines mounted in the forward pods, the Slice can travel at high speeds (up to 35 knots) while maintaining stability in rough waters and leaving little wake.

Contents

• Ferry Futures
• Map of proposed ferry system (57k)
• MTC recommended improvements to existing ferry services and facilities
• Slicing through the Bay
• Funding tops agenda In Sacramento
• Recommended contract award for TransLink^TM
• BART to San Francisco Airport gets funding reprieve