New City Wide Ferry Service Starts Today

[Amtrak7]

It replaced it. East River Ferry(old one) was the one you rode and NYC ferry(new one) came into service today. Backed by DeBlasio, whereas East River was a private company I believe and does anyone know what's going to happen with East River Ferry and their boats?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using NYC Transit Forums mobile app

 

East River Ferry was run by NY Waterway, but with city subsidies. They started with a pretty low fare ($4 I believe?) but as they ran into money troubles it was raised, first on weekends and then all the time. Service was also reduced.

 

I expect the same for this operation. I can't see the Rockaway ferry having any sizable off peak ridership in the winter.

[Deucey]

That's precisely what it is... Phase 1... The communities that yelled the loudest got service first, that being areas like the Rockaways. There are plenty of neighborhoods that have said they want it too such as Throggs Neck in the Bronx and parts of Northeast Queens, but those areas would definitely be part of the service expansion. This is a very expensive investment for the city, so it's unreasonable to think that you could have so many lines up and running at once. In addition to the community meetings, the city also had to hire consultants to study the environmental impact of such service and that also takes time and money. Any service expansions will see similar issues and will require community input.

 

A Coney Island-Stapleton route... Well who is going to ride it? You need people with MONEY that can afford the ride. Even at $2.75, some have stated that it would double their commuting costs, though it still costs less than the express bus.

I wonder if DeBlasio decided to adapt this thought piece for the SI Ferry into phases two or three of his plan to build up his navy.

[Deucey]

East River Ferry was run by NY Waterway, but with city subsidies. They started with a pretty low fare ($4 I believe?) but as they ran into money troubles it was raised, first on weekends and then all the time. Service was also reduced.

 

I expect the same for this operation. I can't see the Rockaway ferry having any sizable off peak ridership in the winter.

It was a $4 fare when I took it. Then they had issues with their boats, so NY Water Taxi handled ERF trips between AM and PM rush.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

East River Ferry was run by NY Waterway, but with city subsidies. They started with a pretty low fare ($4 I believe?) but as they ran into money troubles it was raised, first on weekends and then all the time. Service was also reduced.

 

I expect the same for this operation. I can't see the Rockaway ferry having any sizable off peak ridership in the winter.

Any why is that? This service will serve all of the Rockaways and by then the residents should be familiar with the service. Besides there was a ferry service previously that was quite popular. This one is much cheaper and accessible, since you have a shuttle bus for each side of the area.

[trainfan22]

I rode it today, it was pretty cool, boat is small so it bounces a lot and tends to sway side to side which is kinda scary, maybe the wind made the ride rougher than it normally is, perhaps its smoother on calm days.  It seems to hit with the riders that I came across, a lot were taking pictures and such, I even seen a construction worker on the Marine Parkway Bridge taking photos of the boat    at low RPM and idle, the engine sounds like a Coach bus, also the engine is noisey when the boat is moving at regular speed.

 

You can sit outside on the roof but you can't sit outside in the front of the boat, the boats have a "boat fan window" but taking pictures and videos though it will be challenge cause the boat bounces and sways so much.

 

 

They should really consider making non stop Rockaways - Wall Street trips during rush hour and maybe during the summertime from Memorial Day - Labor Day. The BK Army terminal stop ate up like 10 minutes.

 

 

 

Also they should build up the Rockaway terminal, like a indoor waiting area would be nice especially during the winter and windy days like today. Something like the NY Waterway terminal at Battery Park would be perfect.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

I would disagree with that.  Most of Queens only has an express bus or the LIRR as an alternative to the subway, and guess what? They run hourly for the most part off-peak, especially the express buses and people use them.... The city is spending over $300 million dollars for this service so it has to first prove to be profitable before it can be expanded. I would certainly use the service as is to go the Rockaways and walk around in Neponsit for example. The Rockaways can be a new destination with new restaurants and shops.

Yes, but there's a difference between being responsible and being "frugal". Running the service every 60 minutes, moreso during the rush hour, will not have a similar effect compared to running the ferries every 30 minutes or so. During the rush, even the   is still an attractive option over the ferry because of the frequency. Certain people may be able to work around this schedule, but if you want to attract frequent customers (especially those who would buy monthly passes), then the schedule, at least during the rush, should be more frequent than every 60 minutes.

 

Honestly, in this city, if you're running a service every 60 minutes during the rush, no matter whether its a subway route, bus, rail, etc., the service shouldn't even be running in the first place, IMO. Shows that there's not much faith in the service by providing that amount of service. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Yes, but there's a difference between being fiscally responsible and being "frugal". Running the service every 60 minutes, moreso during the rush hour, will not have a similar effect compared to running the ferries every 30 minutes or so. During the rush, even the   is still an attractive option over the ferry because of the frequency. Certain people may be able to work around this schedule, but if you want to attract frequent customers (especially those who would buy monthly passes), then the schedule, at least during the rush, should be more frequent than every 60 minutes.

 

Honestly, in this city, if you're running a service every 60 minutes during the rush, no matter whether its a subway route, bus, rail, etc., the service shouldn't even be running in the first place, IMO. Shows that there's not much faith in the service by providing that amount of service. 

I don't think so at all. It comes down to money. Ferry service is expensive. They also are buying brand new boats, plus paying for shuttle service. All of this costs MONEY, and this is being subsidized by the city.  We're already spending $325 million for this service. As a taxpayer, I would much rather see the service grow first BEFORE adding 30 minute headways. Unlike before, this service has received substantial community input (I know since I attended several of them). Everything you're complaing about has been discussed, as the fact of the matter is people have to be reasonable with their requests. I mean seriously the people are getting a FREE shuttle bus to the ferry for the price of a subway ride. They've also been accomodated by running the service early at 05:30 in the morning. One resident requested such a thing citing the numerous construction workers that would use the service, so this entire program is in place with the idea of FUTURE expansion, including more frequent service. That naturally should be done by first recouping some revenues before blowing several hundred million more in more boats and so on. We don't have infinite money here and therefore this plan makes the most sense. This is not like the and should not be treated like subway service or even express bus service.