BIDDEFORD — Zach May of Ohio was looking for a faster, easier and cleaner way to get from Camp Ellis ”“ his home during the academic year ”“ to his classes at the University of New England. The UNE student found that way on Monday, the first day of a three-week pilot program that uses a ferry to transport students, faculty and staff from a dock in Camp Ellis to UNE’s Biddeford campus.

“This will help a lot of people who live in Camp Ellis, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough,” said May. “This is a time-saver. It’s just so easy. It’s so convenient for everybody.”

“It’s not bad. I’d take it again,” said Cindy Vakas as she landed at the Camp Ellis dock on Monday afternoon. She had taken the ferry to work in the morning and had just completed her return trip at the end of the workday.

The ferry was very convenient for her, said Vakas, who lives in Kinney Shores. The trip that normally takes her 20 minutes by car only takes a few minutes by boat.

“It saves gas and driving time,” she said.

About 10 people took the boat ride on Monday, said Alethea Cardidi, UNE’s sustainability coordinator and one of the organizers of the experiment. She said she thinks the damp, chilly day scared some people off. As the weather improves and news of the ferry spreads, she said she hopes more people will use the boat, which is free to those who attend classes or work at the university. If justified by the amount of ridership, the ferry could run on a continuing basis, she said.

Most commuting passengers first board the ferry, which runs in the morning and afternoon, in Camp Ellis. The boat leaves from the dock at Bare Knee Point Kayak Rentals, which is the last-remaining, privately owned, working dock on the Saco River, according to Captain Carl Langerstrom, who commands the vessel. The boat then makes the short trip to UNE’s dock in Biddeford, where some passengers are dropped off as others board for the return trip.

The ferry pilot program is a result of a class project of UNE Department of Environmental Studies professor Noah Perlut.

Each semester, said Perlut, his class does a sustainability project. Students came up with the idea for the project.

“We know there is a significant student population that lives in Old Orchard Beach and Camp Ellis,” he said.

Class members conducted a feasibility study. About 400 students and 130 faculty and staff members who attend classes or work at the Biddeford campus were surveyed, said Perlut.

“Sixty-seven percent expressed interest and support” for the ferry, he said.

Based on the feedback, there “seemed to be really strong support to gather resources for a pilot,” said Perlut.

That’s when UNE student Ryan Kingston, a senior who is on the university’s Environmental Council, took charge and presented the idea to the school’s student government.

“They were very enthusiastic,” said Kingston. The organization provided the $3,000 of funding needed to conduct the pilot program.

“I thought it was unique,” said Kingston, as to why he backed the program.

“It will cut commuter miles, cut carbon emissions, cut the number of cars on campus and free up parking space,” which is at a premium on campus, he said.

As others were on the UNE dock boarding the ferry back to Camp Ellis, Barbara Swartzlander, who lives in Scarborough and works at the UNE library, was there filling out the necessary liability waivers to use the ferry. While she hadn’t ridden the boat yet, she was looking forward to doing so in the near future.

“I hope there’s enough people to make it work,” said Swartzlander. In addition to making her daily commute easier, she said, “I love a boat ride.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or [email protected].