Duck Boats Begin Test Runs On City Streets
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Ducks are back on the streets of Philadelphia, three months after the fatal collision on the Delaware. But they're not yet taking passengers.
"Ride the Ducks" and the Nutter Administration reached agreement in principle earlier this month to let the company operate on the Schuylkill, where there's no commercial maritime traffic. But many details need to be finalized, including the Ducks' routes between the historic district and the river.
City managing director Rich Negrin said the company is now testing out new routes:
"I think the Ducks are specifically timing out several different routes throughout the Center City area, through the historic district, up to the (Art) Museum, to get a sense a sense of what the preferred route for them is."
But there will be no resumption of service until the city agrees to those routes, and until details of an entrance ramp to the Schuylkill are worked out. Negrin described the timetable for a spring start as "aggressive."
"We have yet to see sort of a detailed plan around which is the preferred route, and where we're going to need to think about operating in the future."
Negrin said its unlikely this will affect Center City traffic:
"I think we need to see the routes first so we can do that analysis. But the Ducks are just, they're not large vehicles. There are not that many of them. So I don't anticipate it being any big burden on the traffic."
Two Hungarian tourists died on July 7th when a disable Ride the Ducks vehicle, stranded in the Delaware, was rammed by a barge being pushed by a city-operated tug. Families of both victims are suing, and the NTSB is continuing its investigation.
Reported by KYW Newradio's Mike Dunn
