Definition of Ferry franchise
The public grant of a right to maintain a ferry at a particular place; a right conferred to land at a particular point and secure toll for the transportation of persons and property from that point across the stream. A grant to a named person empowering him to continue an interrupted land highway over the interrupting waters. U. S. v. Puget Sound Nav. Co., D.C.Wash., 24 F.Supp. 431, 432.
That's the definition of Ferry franchise in Black's Law Dictionary 6th Edition. Courtesy of Cekhukum.com.