The Richmond Ferry Gets a Midday Boat Home on November 2. Evenings Still Belong to the Weekend.

On Monday, Nov. 2, San Francisco Bay Ferry adds a weekday boat from San Francisco to Richmond at 1:35 PM. It also moves the last weekday departure home from 8:00 PM to 8:15 PM, and shifts the early-afternoon westbound sailing from 2:05 PM to 2:15 PM. Those are small adjustments to a timetable. For anyone in Point Richmond who takes the ferry from Ford Point, they change which kinds of San Francisco trips fit into a weekday.

The new schedule turns a weekday on the Richmond route into a workable daytime round trip. The best boat for an evening in the city still runs on Saturdays and Sundays. The full announcement and redlined timetables are on SF Bay Ferry's November 2 schedule change page.

The weekday hole the 1:35 PM boat fills

Under the current timetable, which took effect March 9, 2026, the weekday eastbound schedule has a long gap in the middle of the day. A boat leaves downtown San Francisco at 11:20 AM, and the next one leaves at 3:00 PM. If you rode into the city in the morning, that left two choices. You could turn around almost as soon as you arrived, or you could stay most of the afternoon.

The 1:35 PM sailing reaches Richmond at 2:10 PM and cuts that 3-hour-40-minute gap into two shorter ones.

Two weekday morning boats line up with the new sailing to make a half-day work:

1. Leave Richmond at 8:55 AM, arrive in San Francisco at 9:30 AM, and come back on the 1:35 PM. That's about four hours in the city, home by 2:10 PM.
2. Leave Richmond at 10:40 AM, arrive at 11:15 AM, and come back on the 1:35 PM. That's a little over two hours, enough for one appointment or a long lunch.

Before Nov. 2, either of those mornings ended with a choice between a rushed 11:20 AM return and waiting for the 3:00 PM. The new boat sits in between.

Heading the other way, the 12:00 PM boat still leaves Richmond at noon. The next westbound departure, now at 2:15 PM, arrives downtown at 2:50 PM, so the trip takes 35 minutes, the same as most of the route's other trips. The 3:40 PM sailing follows. If you're heading into the city for something in the afternoon, the noon boat gets you there for an early-afternoon start and the 2:15 PM gets you there for a later one.

Weeknights move 15 minutes. Weekends already run later.

The evening changes are smaller. The last weekday ferry home will leave downtown San Francisco at 8:15 PM and reach Richmond at 8:50 PM, replacing the 8:00 PM departure. An extra 15 minutes helps with a dinner reservation that starts at 6:30 PM. It doesn't stretch to a full show or a late table.

The weekday schedule also gets a new 8:55 PM westbound boat from Richmond, arriving in San Francisco at 9:30 PM, in place of the 8:40 PM sailing. No weekday boat comes back after the 8:15 PM, so the 8:55 PM is one-way only and can't anchor a weeknight out in the city.

The weekend schedule isn't changing on Nov. 2, and it already runs later. On Saturdays and Sundays, the last boat leaves San Francisco at 8:50 PM and reaches Richmond at 9:25 PM. That's 35 minutes later than the new weekday last boat, on fewer daily sailings.

Here's how the two evenings compare after Nov. 2:

• Weeknight: Westbound boats leave Richmond at 6:10 PM and 7:25 PM, and the last boat home leaves San Francisco at 8:15 PM. A dinner from 7:00 to 8:00 PM near the downtown terminal fits. Not much else does.
• Weekend night: The 6:40 PM boat from Richmond arrives at 7:15 PM, and the 8:50 PM brings you back. It's still a short evening, but a later one.

The weekend's 9:30 PM boat leaves Richmond after the last eastbound boat leaves San Francisco, so it's also one-way. On both schedules, the boat you need to know is the last one back from the city.

SF Bay Ferry says service changes like these happen twice a year and track ridership data, and it takes feedback through its contact page. Any Richmond rider who wants a later weekday boat home has a place to say so.

Getting from the Point to Ford Point

The Richmond Ferry Terminal is at 1453 Harbour Way South at Ford Point. That's southeast of Point Richmond, past Marina Bay rather than across the hill at Ferry Point. How you get there shapes how easily a midday trip fits into your day.

By car: There's a free 362-space lot next to the terminal. It's unattended and first-come, first-served, and overnight parking isn't allowed, so the lot works for day trips and evening returns but not for leaving a car while you travel.

By bike: The terminal has a limited number of open-air racks, 20 BikeLink lockers, and a bike-share station beside the terminal. Bikes are allowed on board when there's room.

By bus: AC Transit Line 74 stops at Harbour Way S & Ford Point and connects the terminal with Richmond BART. Line 72M serves Point Richmond on its way toward Jack London Square. Each line covers one end of the trip, so check both schedules for a connection before counting on the bus to make a 10:40 AM boat.

The fare is the same whichever way you arrive. Since July 1, 2026, when fares went up on every SF Bay Ferry route, a one-way Richmond trip costs $5.20 for adults and $2.60 at the discount fare, and children under 5 ride free. Discounts are available through Clipper START, RTC Clipper, Senior Clipper and Youth Clipper. Riders 65 and older, ages 5 to 17, Medicare card holders and people with DMV disabled-parking placards qualify for reduced fares. You can pay with Clipper, a debit or credit card, the SF Bay Ferry app, or a paper ticket, and Clipper and tap-to-pay riders may get transfer discounts with other transit agencies. The details are on SF Bay Ferry's fare change page.

A $2.60 senior fare and a 1:35 PM boat home together make a weekday midday trip into the city cheap and short.

What's at the terminal end right now

The schedule makes the San Francisco end of a trip easier to plan. The Richmond end has fewer places to stop than it did a year ago.

The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center is in the historic Ford Assembly Plant at 1414 Harbour Way South, a short walk from the boats. The National Park Service lists admission as free. The hours on the park's visitor page were last updated in 2024, so check them before you plan around a visit. If you come back on the 1:35 PM boat, you're at Ford Point by 2:10 PM, which leaves time for the visitor center if it's open that afternoon.

Riggers Loft at 1325 Canal Boulevard used to give the area a waterfront spot for food, drinks and events. It closed permanently in late September 2025, as Richmondside reported. The replacement leases that came up for a vote in late 2025 were for beverage producers. According to Grandview Independent's November 2025 coverage, the proposed terms allowed production and storage but not tasting rooms, event spaces or kitchens.

Craneway Pavilion, the waterfront event venue at 1414–1422 Harbour Way South, is also in flux. In April 2026, the Richmond City Council rejected a proposed donation of the venue's leasehold, and the leaseholder indicated it intends to transfer the interest to a marine-use entity. Grandview Independent covered the vote. Nothing published since has settled what the building becomes.

So the Ford Point waterfront today has a free national park visitor center, a free parking lot, and a timetable that runs better at midday. A half-day trip on the new schedule puts lunch on the San Francisco end.

The week, rearranged

Starting Monday, Nov. 2, here's how the schedule sorts the week. Weekdays support a morning boat to the city and an early-afternoon return, home by 2:10 PM, which wasn't possible before. Weeknights get 15 more minutes, with an 8:15 PM last boat. Weekends are unchanged and keep the route's latest ride home, the 8:50 PM out of San Francisco. Weekday trips run on the current schedule through Friday, Oct. 30.

Whether you're curious how a short trip to Ford Point and a 35-minute crossing affect what your Point Richmond home is worth, or you're thinking about selling and want buyers to understand that commute, Suzie Koide is glad to help. Ask for a complimentary home valuation and plan, and she'll show you how local details like the ferry schedule fit into your home's story.