Post by ferryfast admin on Apr 1, 2005 11:28:38 GMT -5
Fleets will compete for the Rock
Park Service allows bids for lucrative Alcatraz concession
Dan Levy, SF Chronicle Staff Writer
www.sfgate.com/
Friday, April 1, 2005
For the first time ever, the multimillion-dollar concession to ferry passengers from San Francisco to Alcatraz is open to competitive bidding.
Three companies have applied for the business, which last year brought in an estimated $15.4 million in revenue to current concessionaire Blue & Gold Fleet.
A panel appointed by the National Park Service, which runs the prison- turned-tourist attraction, will pick a winner by the end of the year, Park Service spokeswoman Holly Bundock said.
Blue & Gold, which has operated the ferry business to the Rock since 1994, has reapplied for the contract.
The Red and White Fleet, a much smaller business that held the concession from 1984 to 1994, has also applied for the business, as has Hornblower Cruises & Events.
"We've responded to (the call for bids). Now we're just waiting to see what the National Park Service says," Red & White owner Tom Escher said.
"We've definitely responded and we're hopeful that we get the next 10- year contract," said Robert Knigge, marketing director for Blue & Gold.
The bid for the Alcatraz concession has echoes of past bay battles.
Escher, the grandson of the man who founded Red & White, fought for control of his grandfather's old fleet in the 1980s, only to see most of the business sold to rival Blue & Gold.
At the time, Escher settled for three boats and the Red & White name. He now has four boats and features a one-hour bay cruise.
Between 3,000 and 5,000 people visit Alcatraz daily, walking through the same cell blocks and grounds where Al Capone and other notorious criminals were incarcerated until the prison was shut in 1963.
The Alcatraz concessionaire is responsible for ferrying visitors on the bay, providing food and beverages on the boats, and maintaining ticket facilities and assembly areas in San Francisco. There is also a shuttle van that the concessionaire operates on the island for people with disabilities.
For decades, federal guidelines gave the concession holder a "preferential right of renewal," a provision that discouraged competitive bidding, Bundock said.
But Congress passed legislation in 1998 that did away with that provision.
About 1.3 million visitors go to Alcatraz each year. Once they get there, the Park Service takes over from the concessionaire and offers self-guided audio tours through its partner, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
The Park Service predicts annual revenue of $18.3 million this year for the ferry concessionaire.
The contract holder will pay a 21.5 percent franchise fee to the federal government.
Blue & Gold will continue to operate the business until a winner is selected.
Park Service allows bids for lucrative Alcatraz concession
Dan Levy, SF Chronicle Staff Writer
www.sfgate.com/
Friday, April 1, 2005
For the first time ever, the multimillion-dollar concession to ferry passengers from San Francisco to Alcatraz is open to competitive bidding.
Three companies have applied for the business, which last year brought in an estimated $15.4 million in revenue to current concessionaire Blue & Gold Fleet.
A panel appointed by the National Park Service, which runs the prison- turned-tourist attraction, will pick a winner by the end of the year, Park Service spokeswoman Holly Bundock said.
Blue & Gold, which has operated the ferry business to the Rock since 1994, has reapplied for the contract.
The Red and White Fleet, a much smaller business that held the concession from 1984 to 1994, has also applied for the business, as has Hornblower Cruises & Events.
"We've responded to (the call for bids). Now we're just waiting to see what the National Park Service says," Red & White owner Tom Escher said.
"We've definitely responded and we're hopeful that we get the next 10- year contract," said Robert Knigge, marketing director for Blue & Gold.
The bid for the Alcatraz concession has echoes of past bay battles.
Escher, the grandson of the man who founded Red & White, fought for control of his grandfather's old fleet in the 1980s, only to see most of the business sold to rival Blue & Gold.
At the time, Escher settled for three boats and the Red & White name. He now has four boats and features a one-hour bay cruise.
Between 3,000 and 5,000 people visit Alcatraz daily, walking through the same cell blocks and grounds where Al Capone and other notorious criminals were incarcerated until the prison was shut in 1963.
The Alcatraz concessionaire is responsible for ferrying visitors on the bay, providing food and beverages on the boats, and maintaining ticket facilities and assembly areas in San Francisco. There is also a shuttle van that the concessionaire operates on the island for people with disabilities.
For decades, federal guidelines gave the concession holder a "preferential right of renewal," a provision that discouraged competitive bidding, Bundock said.
But Congress passed legislation in 1998 that did away with that provision.
About 1.3 million visitors go to Alcatraz each year. Once they get there, the Park Service takes over from the concessionaire and offers self-guided audio tours through its partner, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
The Park Service predicts annual revenue of $18.3 million this year for the ferry concessionaire.
The contract holder will pay a 21.5 percent franchise fee to the federal government.
Blue & Gold will continue to operate the business until a winner is selected.