Receipts is a weekly spotlight on how the city of Houston and Harris County spend your tax money, with a focus on the everyday things most residents may take for granted. Got something you want us to look at? Email José at jose@houstonlanding.org.
You’re zooming down the Sam Houston Tollway, a camera light flashes overhead as you pass through the toll plaza and you’re charged $1.75. You not only paid to use the road, you just paid to take cars across the Houston Ship Channel on the Lynchburg Ferry.
Originally powered by a hand-pulled rope just below the confluence of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou starting in 1822, the then-Lynch’s Ferry was used to help escaping Texas colonists flee the Mexican army during the Runaway Scrape.
Harris County took over the ferry in 1888, and has been providing free crossings since 1890. Operation of the two-boat ferry was transferred from Precinct 2 to the Harris County Toll Road Authority in 2020.
The cost: So far this fiscal year, the toll road authority has spent $1,648,856 on the ferry. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
The annual outlay has varied, from $1.24 million in fiscal 2022 to $3.67 million in 2024, with additional costs attributed to equipment upgrades and changes in fuel and staffing costs.
Total expenses since 2022 amount to $9.5 million.
That covered maintenance of the boats, fuel and about 24 staffers, including office workers, pilots and deckhands, among other things.
Each crossing takes about three to five minutes to go about 1,000 feet across the ship channel, connecting North and South Independence Parkway, near the San Jacinto Battleground and Monument. The ferry made 42,962 trips in 2024, averaging 788 vehicles and 1,541 passengers each day.
Many passengers use the ferry for their daily commutes, while others use the ferry simply to get to the Monument Inn restaurant on the La Porte side of the channel.
The two diesel-powered ferries – named for former Texas governors William P. Hobby and Ross Sterling – were built in 1964.
“Both the ferry vessels are actually a year younger than I am,” joked Calvin Harvey, Deputy Director of Public Safety and Operations at the Harris County Toll Road Authority. “So, they’re past their prime but they’re still operational.”
Repairs can require a nationwide search for replacements due to the age of the boats.
“It’s very hard to find parts for them. We have one whole complete engine and power train that’s set aside, so that that way if one goes out, we can just quickly swap out the engine and the transmission.”
The toll road authority is in the design phase for new boats that will have more capacity and space for commercial vehicles. It also is applying for federal grants to create a greener footprint for the operation.
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