San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority

San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), a local government transit authority based in San Francisco, California, receives federal grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to design, construct, and maintain a regional ferry fleet and terminal infrastructure serving the San Francisco Bay Area. WETA is a public entity operating under a legislative mandate to coordinate emergency water transit when regional transportation systems are disrupted by disaster. The authority does not hold federal contracts and competes as a direct grant recipient rather than as a prime contractor on open or set-aside vehicles.

WETA's federal funding footprint is monolithic: the Federal Transit Administration accounts for 51 of 54 total awards in the source data, with the Federal Highway Administration contributing 2 awards and the Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 contributing 1. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $507 million over the award history captured in the source. WETA acts as a direct prime recipient on 53 of 54 awards (98%); only one sub-award appears in the source, a $1 sub-grant role under City & County of San Francisco for workforce development and high-speed electric ferry vessel management as part of the Working Waterfront Coalition.

WETA's recent grant activity spans preventive maintenance, vessel replacement, terminal infrastructure rehabilitation, and zero-emission vessel development. The FTA awarded WETA $29.722735 million on August 14, 2026, under the State of Good Repair Grants Program (CFDA 20.525) for preventive maintenance of ferry vessels, including mid-life refurbishments and major component rehabilitation, and rehabilitation of the ferry terminal and maintenance building at the North Bay Operations Facility. The same date produced a $2.466 million Highway Planning and Construction award (CFDA 20.205) for purchase of one terminal float for vessel landing infrastructure and emergency response enhancement. Earlier in 2026, on June 16, FTA awarded $19.875 million under the Federal Transit Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507) to replace three existing public ferry terminal floats; the floats will be constructed in the United States to meet Buy America requirements and are projected to support 1.248 million walk-on annual passengers by 2030. Additional recent work includes a $30.2 million State of Good Repair award (June 6, 2025) for preventive maintenance and vessel refurbishments, a $21.157 million formula grant (July 29, 2024) for replacement of the MV Mare Island ferry, and an $8.6 million project grant (September 7, 2022) to design and construct a zero-emission passenger ferry vessel for service between downtown San Francisco, Mission Bay, and Treasure Island.

Award volume per year has been variable: four awards in 2022, three in 2023, two in 2024, five in 2025, and three in 2026 year-to-date. Nine awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing the recompete exposure window. WETA operates six ferry routes—Alameda/Oakland to San Francisco, Vallejo to San Francisco, Alameda/Oakland to South San Francisco, Alameda Harbor Bay to San Francisco, Richmond to San Francisco, and Alameda Seaplane Lagoon to San Francisco—serving terminals in San Francisco, South San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, Alameda, and Vallejo. Recent operational data show WETA transported 2.9 million passengers in the twelve-month period November 2024 through 2025, with projections indicating ridership will exceed 4 million passengers annually within five to ten years.