2022 NCFO Cover Le 2022 NCFO Cover Letter

U.S. Department of Transportation		1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590
Office of the Secretary of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics

May 1, 2023

Ferry Operator

123 Main Street

Anywhere, DC 00000

Dear Ferry Operator,

We are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 National Census of Ferry Operators (NCFO). The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics collects data from all ferry operators in the United States as part of its legislative requirement to ‘maintain a national ferry database containing current information regarding routes, vessels, passengers and vehicles carried’. Signed into law on December 4, 2015, The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act continues the requirement for the information collected by the NCFO to be used by the Federal Highway Administration to allocate Federal grant funds (Public Law 114-94, sec. 1112). This census was delayed to collect data for calendar year 2022 in the hopes that ferry operations will have stabilized since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The census collects information needed to help the government support the Ferry industry’s growth and security as a key component of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. More specifically, the data you provide here will be used by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to allocate monies from the ferry boat discretionary fund.

To complete your 2022 NCFO survey please use the following URL to connect to the online survey: survey.bts.gov/ferry. Once you access the online survey you will be asked to log on using your operation’s unique username and password, as provided here:

Username: ncfo0000

Password: unique

The NCFO is a voluntary survey and should take each ferry operator on average 30 minutes to complete. This data collection effort has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB Number: 2139-0009, Expiration Date: TBD). If you desire additional information about this census or have technical problems completing the online survey, please contact us at (800) 853-1351 or [email protected]

I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to do your part to provide an accurate picture of the current status of the nation’s ferry industry. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Patricia S. Hu

Director

Bureau of Transportation Statistics