DOI: 10.3886/e238706v1
title: National Census of Ferry Operators (NCFO) 2022

description: The
 National Ferry Database contains the comprehensive data results of the 
National Census of Ferry Operators (NCFO). The database is divided into
 5 datasets. The most common identifier among all the datasets 
is OPERATOR_ID. The exception to this is the segments file. For methodology see "response rate" in Methodology section below.For reference on each data variable, please consult the included Data Dictionary. The included datasets are the results of the 2022 NCFO. The data captured
 by the 2022 NCFO represent calendar year 2022 operational data from the
 139 (57%) of known U.S. ferry operators that completed the census. <br>Please note that there is an empty data set with reference to the same data (https://www.datalumos.org/datalumos/project/235145/version/V1/view) .<br>
description: Response Rates: The NCFO is a census of all known ferry boat operations running 
within and to the United States and its territories, encompassing the 50
 States, Washington DC, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin
 Islands. In addition to the ferry operations providing domestic service
 within the United States and to its territories, operations providing 
service to and from the United States are also included. The scope of 
ferry operations included in the NCFO comprises those operators 
providing itinerant, fixed route, common carrier passenger and/or 
vehicle ferry service as well as railroad car float operations.<br>Operations
 that were exclusively non-itinerant, such as excursion services (e.g., 
whale watches, casino boats, day cruises, dinner cruises, etc.), 
passenger-only water taxi services not operating on a fixed route, and 
LoLo (Lift-on/Lift-off) freight/auto carrier series were out of scope 
for the NCFO.<br>All 240 in-service ferry operations were 
encouraged to participate in the 2022 NCFO by an advance letter and 
follow-up email sent by BTS in May 2023. The letter and email provided 
unique log-in credentials for each ferry operation to respond online. 
Non-respondents were contacted by phone and email from July through 
December 2023 to further encourage participation and to offer 
questionnaire assistance. Non-respondents received up to three 
non-response phone calls and two emails over this time-period. Data 
collection was completed in December 2023.<br>The 2022 NCFO 
received complete responses from 139 of the 240 in-service ferry 
operations. The data provided from these 139 respondents is provided 
here. The analysis provided herein uses only reported numbers; missing 
information or responses designated as business-sensitive were not 
imputed or used to estimate totals.<br>Geographically, the 
139 ferry operations represented 33 states, 2 U.S. territories, and 1 
operation in Canada with routes to the U.S.<br>The vessel 
characteristics of the reported vessels were obtained from the U.S. 
Coast Guard Merchant Vessels of the United States data. This data adds 
11 variables to the dataset specific to vessel size, weight, and 
propulsion.<br>Several operators either did not provide 
passenger and/or vehicle boarding data or asked that the data they 
provided not be made public. Similar to the 2018 and 2020 NCFO, 
passenger and vehicle boarding estimates were not imputed in the 2022 
NCFO. Thus, due to eligible operators who did not respond, as well as 
those choosing not to provide or make information public for select 
items, the numbers in this report likely underestimate the true total 
values. These underestimates would include vessels, terminals, segments 
and route-miles counts, and total passengers and vehicles boarding in 
calendar year 2022.<br>Over the years, the NCFO’s frame of 
operators has grown; however, due to an inconsistent responding 
population, care must be taken in comparing NCFO statistics from one 
census year to the next. Of the respondents that completed the 2020 and 
2022 NCFOs, 123 ferry operators responded in both years. However, 43 
operators responded to the 2020 NCFO but not to the 2022 NCFO, while 19 
operators responded to the 2022 NCFO but not to the 2020 NCFO. One ferry
 operator responded to the NCFO for the first time in 2022.<br><br>
description: Ferry Operators.
description: complete responses from 139 of the 240 in-service ferry operations<br>