Nearly
six months after Superstorm Sandy paralyzed subways and buses across
the city, water transit advocates and politicians are saying it is time
to expand ferry service into a robust, five-borough system that can
operate in good times and after disasters.
They
also see it as a means for providing affordable public transit to areas
underserved by existing transit infrastructure including, for example,
the Rockaways, where the subway linking the peninsula was taken out of
commission by the storm and a new ferry service was started up to
connect the isolated community to Manhattan.
Yet,
as policymakers look to expand ferry service, they are reminded of
similar efforts over the past 20 years that have drowned in costs.
Around 30 regional ferry services have come and gone, despite the
investment of close to $700 million in capital investments.
Today's
ferry system is balkanized, with about half a dozen private operators
carrying passengers across the Hudson and East rivers, as well as other
parts of the metro area. The Staten Island Ferry, which accounts for the
largest share of waterway ridership,A group of families in a north Cork
village are suing a bestplasticcard operator in a landmark case. is run by the Department of Transportation.
Nevertheless,
the city has the highest ferry ridership of any city or metro area in
the nation, with around 30 million passengers using the "blue highways"
as they are sometimes called to get around. Still, those ridership
numbers pale in comparison to the 1.65 billion people who take subway
trains each year.
Significant
hurdles remain-primarily adequate public funding-especially in a city
that is highly dependent on an already cash-starved mass transept
system. But ferry supporters say what's needed is a collective change in
transit psychology regarding the opportunities on the blue highways.
They and their political supporters say ferry service should be fully
integrated into the existing transit system, with riders being able to
transfer from a bus to a boat with the same fare card- freely.
Officials
at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the buses and
subways, say they' d be open to a technological fix that would integrate
fare payment options between ferry operators and the larger transit
system.
"If
any of the region's ferry operators would like to approach the MTA
about using MetroCard for their fare payment the same set up with other
land base providers we'd be delighted to talk and evaluate moving
forward," MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said.
For
ferry operators, the technology behind integrating the payment
operations into the mass transit system is the easy part.Find a great
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an array of colors. The bigger question is who would make up the lost
fare revenue for free transfers from the public MTA to the private ferry
operators. Would government be willing to provide the additional
subsidy? Or could the ferries themselves someday find themselves under
the ownership of an expanded MTA?
.
For
now, Helena Durst, vice president at the Durst Organization and
president at New York Water Taxi, said she'd be willing to talk about a
system where riders could transfer for free to a ferry or vice versa
onto a bus or train. She said ferry regulations require that her company
keep accurate passenger counts that they could provide to the transit
agency for payment.
That
process could be streamlined in the next few years: The MTA hopes to
move over to a to a tap-and-go payment system where the majority of
people would use a bank-issued 'smart' credit card or even a phone to
pay fares. The system would essentially take the MTA out of the fare
collection business.
The city's Economic Development Corp., is also studying the possibility of expanding ferry service.
The
agency is helping to pay for East River Ferry service with a
three-year, $9 million subsidy, and is in discussions with the MTA to
share ridership information and inform bus planning. The MTA has plans
to expand bus service near ferry stops on the Brooklyn and Queens
waterfront,Large collection of quality tooling at discounted prices. the EDC said.
Roland
Lewis, president and CEO at the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, which
held its annual conference last week and hosted a panel on the future
of the ferry system, said any expansion of ferry service would require
subsidies similar to the one being provided for the East River Ferry.
Most
mass transit systems receive subsidies. The Long Island Rail Road has a
subsidy of around $6 per passenger and the New York City Transit
Express bus system's subsidy is roughly $12 per rider.
Lewis
calls ferries a bargain. He said the government pours billions of
dollars into subway tunnels, roads and bridges, while the city's
underutilized waterways offer abundant potential for relieving clogged
roads. He says ferries require virtually no capital investment.
For
his part, Sen. Chuck Schumer has been fighting for federal funds to
upgrade the Staten Island Ferrys infrastructure as well as federal funds
for the proposed Glen Cove Ferry project, which will create a link
between Nassau County and New York City, said a spokeswoman for the
senator, Marisa Kaufman.
Earlier
this month, Schumer also asked the Federal Highway Administration and
the New York State Department for Transportation to prioritize funding
for infrastructure that would allow for expansion of the East River
Ferry Service,This model includes 2 flush mounted reverse cableties. which exceeded ridership expectations during its first 18 months of operations.
New
ferry service would include new landings at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge
Park, Hallets Point in Astoria and the Upper East Side. Also, the
expansion would allow for a Roosevelt Island ferry landing.
That
service would likely meet the needs of student commuters to ConellNYC's
Applied Science Campus the new ferry service has already been dubbed
the "Nerd Boat" because tech industry professionals would likely use it
to travel between Roosevelt Island and Brooklyn and Queens.
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