Alaska Marine Highway System Analysis Project

Project team

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:57:59 +0000

The project is being led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Dr. Paul Metz, PE, is the Principal Investigator. Consultants to the project include:

Who Takes the Ferry

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:43:52 +0000

Over 1/2 of all AMHS traffic is made up by Alaska residents who live in communities with ferry service (88,000 Alaskans live in communities with ferry service)
1/10 of all traffic is by residents of Anchorage, Mat-Su, and the Interior (Anchorage has the 4th largest number of resident passengers)
1/3 of traffic is non-resident

Life-cycle Cost Analysis

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:03:28 +0000

Life-cycle costing is an important tool for asset-intensive organizations, such as Alaska Ferries. It is being used to analyze the on going operating cost, maintenance cost and capital cost of each ship. The outputs determine the best level of maintenance and the most appropriate time to retire and replace vessels. It is also provides a full cost and revenue model to generate detailed, long range, financial forecasts.

There are at least 5 steps in the life-cycle cost analysis of the ferry system:

Determine model input values through research
Assign a risk range around each input and use simulation techniques to account for uncertainty
Incorporate service delivery options into model
Validate assumptions and financial inputs
Develop 10- and 30-year financial pictures

The consulting company HDR Inc. is doing the Life-Cycle Cost Analysis using a well-proven model. This same model will be used for the financial modeling of service options.

Project phasing

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:18:40 +0000

The project has initially been divided into two phases:

Phase I
- Establish baseline data
- Identify operational challenges
- Identify alternatives for further study
Phase II
- Analysis of alternative scenarios
- Public input