Santa Fe via Willow Posted May 9, 2011 Share #1 Posted May 9, 2011 May 2011 & all we still have is the lone ectothermic St. George/Whitehall SI Ferry. That's fine & all & a great thing to have, but more can, could be done. Why not St. George/E. 34th St ferries? And St. George/W. 38th St ferries? And St. George/Bkln & Queens and St. George/NJ ferries? Hard to believe St. George is still SI's only Ferry Terminal. No extant Port Richmond, Mariner's Harbor, West Shore, &/or South Shore Ferry Terminals. Had there been a stable St. George style Ferry Terminal established on the West or South Shore there probably would have been a Great Partition in SI's bus & train routes. There would probably be a halfway point on the Island where 1 set of buses & the SIR(s?) went to St. George, & the other set to the West or South Shore Ferry Terminal. IE: SIRs run the whole gauntlet serving both Ferries. But buses would split at the halfway point, such as S78-A operating between New Dorp and St. George {via Hylan Blvd} & S78-B operating between the South or West Shore Ferry Terminal and New Dorp {via Hylan Blvd}. Like St. George, I'd like Ferries to operate between this never was West or South Shore Ferry Terminal and Whitehall St, and East & West Midtowns. Why is the SI Ferry cold-blooded? There are commuter/passenger boats that could get across the bay in half the time, or less, it takes the SI Ferry to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted May 9, 2011 Share #2 Posted May 9, 2011 I think most would respond that we should glad that we have that. I for one agree that more could be done, but I think the problem is funding. I think the fare should be re-instated for the ferry to generate more revenue so that more service could be added. It is amazing that they still run hourly service after a certain time on Saturdays and Sundays (something like 19:00 or something) and it has been this way for way too long now. Speed ferries could be added of course at a premium price and that is supposedly in the works for the South Shore, but for now it is just talk as the city has yet to make good with their promises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #3 Posted May 10, 2011 May 2011 & all we still have is the lone ectothermic St. George/Whitehall SI Ferry. That's fine & all & a great thing to have, but more can, could be done. Why not St. George/E. 34th St ferries? And St. George/W. 38th St ferries? And St. George/Bkln & Queens and St. George/NJ ferries? Hard to believe St. George is still SI's only Ferry Terminal. No extant Port Richmond, Mariner's Harbor, West Shore, &/or South Shore Ferry Terminals. Had there been a stable St. George style Ferry Terminal established on the West or South Shore there probably would have been a Great Partition in SI's bus & train routes. There would probably be a halfway point on the Island where 1 set of buses & the SIR(s?) went to St. George, & the other set to the West or South Shore Ferry Terminal. IE: SIRs run the whole gauntlet serving both Ferries. But buses would split at the halfway point, such as S78-A operating between New Dorp and St. George {via Hylan Blvd} & S78-B operating between the South or West Shore Ferry Terminal and New Dorp {via Hylan Blvd}. Like St. George, I'd like Ferries to operate between this never was West or South Shore Ferry Terminal and Whitehall St, and East & West Midtowns. Why is the SI Ferry cold-blooded? There are commuter/passenger boats that could get across the bay in half the time, or less, it takes the SI Ferry to do so. Anything to get that S78 split, huh? St. George to Whitehall Street is the shortest distance from Staten Island to Manhattan, so it would be the cheapest to run. I definitely don't think that a ferry traveling a longer distance should be free. Those other ferries: West 38th Street, East 34th Street, and Long Island City should be done (they should be small, fast ferries, rather than the ferry we have now), but they should probably charge at least $3-$4 to make the trip (and they would probably still require subsidies) Staten Island-New Jersey should be done by buses (or rail, but we know how long that would take), rather than ferries. I don't know how fast a "fast ferry" is, but I'm not sure if it too good an idea, even for the South Shore. If it is slower than an express bus from that area (and/or more expensive to operate), I don't think it will work. As far as the speed goes, I think it has to do with the size of the boats. Smaller boats would probably be faster, but they would require more money spent on crew members (though I wonder how much the cost would truly increase, since the crew members can accomplish more trips per shift). It definitely would be better to have 2 smaller boats and double the frequencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #4 Posted May 10, 2011 Anything to get that S78 split, huh? St. George to Whitehall Street is the shortest distance from Staten Island to Manhattan, so it would be the cheapest to run. I definitely don't think that a ferry traveling a longer distance should be free. Those other ferries: West 38th Street, East 34th Street, and Long Island City should be done (they should be small, fast ferries, rather than the ferry we have now), but they should probably charge at least $3-$4 to make the trip (and they would probably still require subsidies) Staten Island-New Jersey should be done by buses (or rail, but we know how long that would take), rather than ferries. I don't know how fast a "fast ferry" is, but I'm not sure if it too good an idea, even for the South Shore. If it is slower than an express bus from that area (and/or more expensive to operate), I don't think it will work. As far as the speed goes, I think it has to do with the size of the boats. Smaller boats would probably be faster, but they would require more money spent on crew members (though I wonder how much the cost would truly increase, since the crew members can accomplish more trips per shift). It definitely would be better to have 2 smaller boats and double the frequencies. Depending on where folks live on the South Shore, the fast ferries would be quicker than the express bus. That's why Vincent Ignizio and others has been on the city for the fast ferries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #5 Posted May 10, 2011 But how much faster? To get from Tottenville to Midtown on the X22 takes 105 minutes. If some super-express buses used the West Shore Expressway rather than Bloomingdale Road, that could probably be cut down to about 90 minutes. How long would a ferry take to get to Midtown? (Those are real questions, not sarcastic ones) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #6 Posted May 10, 2011 But how much faster? To get from Tottenville to Midtown on the X22 takes 105 minutes. If some super-express buses used the West Shore Expressway rather than Bloomingdale Road, that could probably be cut down to about 90 minutes. How long would a ferry take to get to Midtown? (Those are real questions, not sarcastic ones) Yeah, I said before, it depends on where some folks live on the South Shore. For some it would be faster, but for others, they would have to drive south to get to the fast ferry and for that reason alone, some have said they probably wouldn't use it. I think something like 45 minutes it would take roughly, but again, that depends on where folks are on the South Shore, but that's what I recall hearing. That's the South Shore to say Midtown and if that's the case then that is a significant savings in terms of time compared to the express bus. Here's an old article I found on SILive about how long it would take time wise: http://www.silive.com/transportation/index.ssf/2008/08/south_shore_ferry_is_not_on_th.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santa Fe via Willow Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted May 10, 2011 A West or South Shore Ferry Terminal might, or would, turn the 55 & 56 into Ferry Terminal routes. 55s & 56s with signs saying WEST SHORE FERRY TERMINAL or SOUTH SHORE FERRY TERMINAL on them. The 4 main mass transit modes I'd love to see all of SI be efficiently & adequately covered/served by, & not at ludicrous prices are: * Train/Lightrail * Bus * Ferry * Trolley/Streetcar Plus it would probably help if Ferry, & other services, were incorporated into the MetroCard/farecard/MetroCard's successor network. Fareboxes on boats & streetcars that took farecards, dollar bills, change, &/or any other type of payment, would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #8 Posted May 10, 2011 It would be nice if there was no fare at all. You're right, though: A multimodal system has a lot of advantages, and it would be great if they had a common payment system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santa Fe via Willow Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted May 10, 2011 It would be nice if there was no fare at all. You're right, though: A multimodal system has a lot of advantages, and it would be great if they had a common payment system. No fare at all would be very fair:) Plus a multimodal system wouldn't mean putting all our eggs in 1 or 2 baskets either, which is the way it is now for the most part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman1455 Posted May 10, 2011 Share #10 Posted May 10, 2011 No fare at all would be very fair:) Plus a multimodal system wouldn't mean putting all our eggs in 1 or 2 baskets either, which is the way it is now for the most part. If you pay taxes that's your fare How do you think the S.I ferry is still "free" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted May 12, 2011 Share #11 Posted May 12, 2011 If you pay taxes that's your fare How do you think the S.I ferry is still "free" Exactly. So isn't it better to have the fare already paid for, so people have an incentive to use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted May 12, 2011 Share #12 Posted May 12, 2011 When I went to Boston with friend, we bought 1-Day Charlie Card and and on F4 boat ride, we showed it to pay attendee on boat. Even without farebox, we just should our MetroCard to pay attendee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santa Fe via Willow Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share #13 Posted May 12, 2011 If you pay taxes that's your fare How do you think the S.I ferry is still "free" Many things are "free" via taxe$. Exactly. So isn't it better to have the fare already paid for, so people have an incentive to use it? Exactly:tup: When I went to Boston with friend, we bought 1-Day Charlie Card and and on F4 boat ride, we showed it to pay attendee on boat. Even without farebox, we just should our MetroCard to pay attendee. :cool: I've been up to MA but never Beantown:( I hope to check it out someday & its mass transit & transportation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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