With the Sumner Tunnel shutdown expected to snarl traffic in Boston for the rest of July and all of August, people headed to and from the airport may be looking for a faster way to go than the roads.
Transportation officials are urging travelers to add two hours to their usual trips as the major connector between East Boston, home to Logan International Airport, and the rest of the city closes.
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For those looking to avoid congestion — and make a splash — the best bet to catch a plane on time might be to hit the water.
One water taxi rider explained the benefits of boating to Boston Logan: "Ease, convenience, and [you can] absorb the skyline of Boston and the harbor," Richardo Giacchetti said.
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The airport has a ferry landing that connects to all terminals via a shuttle bus — Route 66, which also stops at the Blue Line subway. The T has a ferry that stops at the airport, as does the city of Winthrop, and there are two water taxi services available: Boston Water Bus, which departs the airport every half hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and Red Top Boats.
Anyone who does take a boat to the airport will get a Ticket to Skip voucher that lets them cut to the front of the TSA's security screening lines, according to the MBTA's explainer on ferry service during the Sumner Tunnel shutdown.
Carrying about 3,416 passengers a day, ferries made up just 0.4 of the T's average weekday ridership as of May, the most recent month for which MBTA statistics were available on Monday. That's less than one-tenth the number of vehicles that pass through the Sumner Tunnel alone on an average day.
Read more about water transportation options to and from the airport here.
Other transportation options that officials are encouraging travelers use to get to the airport instead of cars include the Blue Line train, Silver Line bus and Logan Express bus.
