Golden Gate Ferry began service in 1970 with the M.S. Golden Gate. Service to Larkspur started in 1976. Service to Pacific Bell Park started in 2000. Tiburon service began on March 6, 2017. An additional terminal in Mission Bay intended to serve events at Chase Center is expected to open in 2021 at the foot of 16th Street, with an interim terminal located at Pier 48½. Ferries will serve these terminals from Larkspur Landing.
Routes
Golden Gate Ferry operates regular passenger ferry service on three routes:
Limited service is also operated from Larkspur to Oracle Park for all San Francisco Giants baseball home games. Supplemental service is provided for special events. The Larkspur route has the most service, with 20 weekday round trips and 4 weekend round trips. The Sausalito route has 9 weekday round trips and 6 weekend round trips. The Tiburon route has 7 weekday round trips and no off-peak or weekend service.
Fares and transfers
Golden Gate Ferry fares differ by route, passenger type, and method of payment. Free transfers to/from Golden Gate Transit are available. Free transfers to/from Muni service in San Francisco were discontinued in 2010, though a small transfer discount was retained. The Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit station at Larkspur is located from the ferry terminal.
Fleet
Golden Gate Ferry has a fleet of four catamarans and three monohull vessels. All ferries are wheelchair accessible and can carry bicycles; the catamarans can carry 15 bicycles, the Marin can carry 100 bicycles, and the San Francisco and Sonoma can carry 25 bicycles. All ferries have on-board refreshments, including a full bar. The monohull vessels are named M.S. Marin, M.S. San Francisco, and M.S. Sonoma. The Marin can carry 750 passengers, and the San Francisco and Sonoma can carry 630 passengers each. They were purchased from Philip F. Spaulding & Associates in San Diego in 1976–1977. They were originally powered by gas turbinewater jets but were converted to diesel engine propeller drives in 1983–1985. More efficient diesel engines were installed in 2001 and 2002. The Marin was refurbished from November 2006 to July 2007. The catamarans the MV Del Norte, MV Golden Gate, MV Mendocino, and MV Napa All have a capacity of 450 passengers except the 400-passenger Del Norte. The 1998-built Del Norte and 2001-built Mendocino were built for Golden Gate Ferry to allow faster and more frequent service than the monohull ferries. The Napa and Golden Gate were purchased from Washington State Ferries in January 2009. The Napa underwent refurbishment starting in late 2009. In late 2018, Golden Gate Ferry reached an agreement to lease the MV Millennium from Rhode Island Fast Ferry for one year for $2.5 million. The Millennium will allow full service to continue while the Marin and Sonoma have major work and other ferries are repaired. When the M.S. Golden Gate retired in 2004, she had made 42,108 round trips between Sausalito and San Francisco, carried 21 million passengers and traveled nearly.
