BLADES, Del. - It's been tough sledding for the Woodland Ferry in Western Sussex County. Two weeks ago, we told you about the ferry's need to hire more operators. Since then, staffing has not improved, which has forced the ferry to reduce hours during the week and shut down altogether on weekends.
People who use the ferry on a daily basis are not too happy, especially with summer around the corner.
The ferry's captain says they had to adjust their hours of operation because they're in need of two more captains.
Tim Scott of Woodland uses the ferry frequently. The longer commute has him frustrated.
“Well, my girlfriend lives across the river. The ferry saves me a half hour each way so it’s going to be a little bit of an inconvenience. We hope they get some more captains real soon,” says Scott.
The ferry's reduced hours of operation are also cutting into a woman's daily exercise routine. She says the reduced hours, and weekend shut down, will inconvenience a lot of people.
“I just use it for recreation purposes for my 15 mile bike ride. However, the folks who use it to get home from work after 5, that will probably be a problem. Also there's a lot of weekend traffic and I know a lot of families use the ferry on the weekends. There's a lot of construction on the main roads and people use the ferry as an alternative to go through that construction.,” she says.
Woodland Ferry employees say they recognize the inconvenience but want people to know the hour reduction is temporary until they hire more captains.
The current captain tells WBOC people may not have to wait too long because someone did swing by Monday morning looking to fill one of the empty positions.
