Now it's official

Yesterday, I blogged about the fact that there was a great deal of talk in the village about the possibility that ferry schedules would be reduced. I included a disclaimer, since no changes had been officially announced. Well, now they have. Here's the press release from today. The section which pertains to Ocracoke is in bold text.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 17, 2009
CONTACT: Lucy Wallace (252) 473-3461 or (919) 218-0357

FERRY DIVISION ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO SOME OF ITS ROUTES

MANNS HARBOR — The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry
Division announces changes to five of its seven routes, due to budget
constraints and U.S. Coast Guard staffing requirements. These changes
go into affect April 14.

The Ferry Division sought input from riders on proposed schedule
changes for both the Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach and Bayview-Aurora
routes to minimize inconvenience to commuters. This input was taken
into consideration when finalizing the new schedules.

At Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach, some runs have been deleted and some
have been added in.

Departure times from Cherry Branch will be: 5:05 a.m., 5:55, 6:35,
7:15, 7:55, 8:45, 9:45, 11:45, 12:15 p.m., 1:15, 1:45, 2:45, 3:15,
3:45, 4:05, 4:25, 4:45, 5:05, 5:25, 6:05, 6:45, 7:45, 8:45, 9:45 and
11 p.m.
Departure times from Minnesott Beach will be: 5:25 a.m., 6:15, 6:55,
7:35, 8:15, 9:15, 10:15, 12:15 p.m., 12:45, 1:45, 2:15, 3:15, 3:45,
4:05, 4:25, 4:45, 5:05, 5:25, 5:45, 6:25, 7:15, 8:15, 9:15, 10:15 and
11:30.


The Bayview-Aurora route also has some deletions of runs, but all
efforts were made to meet the needs of workers commuting to the PCS
facility.

Departure times from Bayview will be: 5:30 a.m., 7, 8:30, 12:15 p.m.,
1:30, 3:15, 5:30 and 7.
Departing from Aurora, the times will be: 6:15 a.m., 7:45, 11:15,
12:50 p.m., 2:15, 4:45, 6:15 and 7:45.


Changes to the Pamlico Sound toll trips involve not adding in the
extra summer runs. For the Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan
Quarter-Ocracoke routes, the winter schedule will remain in effect
year-round.

Departure times from Cedar Island and Ocracoke will remain: 7:30 a.m.,
10:30, 2 p.m. and 5.
Departure times from Swan Quarter will remain: 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Departure times from Ocracoke to Swan Quarter remain: 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The Southport-Fort Fisher route went to its winter schedule year-round
on Feb. 2. The Currituck-Knotts Island schedule will not change, nor
will the current Hatteras-Ocracoke schedule. Hatteras will begin
running its summer schedule May 12.

To view the schedules, visit the ferry web site at www.ncferry.org or
call 1-800-By-Ferry.


***NCDOT***