East River Ferry To Keep Chugging Until At Least 2019

By on December 28, 2012 2:25 pm in Transportation

The East River Ferry, originally started as a three-year pilot project, will continue servicing the Brooklyn waterfront into Manhattan until at least 2019, city officials say. The city’s Economic Development Corp. is now searching for an operator to run the popular service for five more years, according to DNAIfo.com. More than 1.6 million passengers have ridden the ferry since it launched in June 2011.

“The East River Ferry has quickly become an integral piece of the city’s transportation network, far surpassing ridership projections for its initial three-year pilot service,” EDC president Seth Pinsky said in a statement, adding that the ferry is a “catalyst for economic development in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.”

The East River Ferry shuttles riders from Brooklyn and Long Island City to Midtown and lower Manhattan for $4 one-way, or $140 for an unlimited monthly pass.

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  • DrewB

    Good news. Now just bring it to the Atlantic Ave dock.

  • Knight

    @DrewB: I agree that would be great! It’s not like they’d have to enhance any infrastructure much … the dock is already there.

  • Ben F.

    Drew is right… add an Atlantic Avenue ferry stop!

  • Eye of the People

    Why are they looking for another operator? Sounds like the business model is NOT there, i.e., it is only operational if the city, i.e., you and me and our fellow taxpayers, are subsiding it. NOT good. Thoughts?

  • Gerry

    The stop must be as near the central business area as possible that would be Fulton Ferry Landing and not Atlantic Ave.

    Passengers need to get to Court Street, Metrotech, etc.

    If one works at LICH or Montero Bar Atlantic Ave would be a good stop otherwise the rest of us need to get to offices downtown.

  • Reggie

    EOTP, the Economic Development Corp. is not looking for another operator; it is looking for an operator for the five-year period beginning after the current agreement expires in 2014. There is nothing stopping the current operator from bidding and potentially keeping the license.

    [It is also possible that no one bids, or no one bids at a figure acceptable to EDC, in which case the headline is inaccurate. The fact that the agency is putting out a Request for Proposals does not ensure the “East River Ferry To Keep Chugging Until At Least 2019.”]

    As for subsidies, almost all transportation is subsidized to some degree. The fare box doesn’t cover the cost of bus and subway service and the millions of dollars spent (just for example) on the toll-free Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges is in effect a subsidy to drivers.

    I didn’t originally intend to end up here, but it occurs to me that bike lanes may be the big bargain in urban transportation.