NYC’s Ferry Future
February 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am[Source: New York Post]
Making Quinn’s Vision Work
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn this week proposed a visionary plan to develop commuter-ferry service linking the boroughs of New York City, offering a new transit alternative for emerging waterfront communities, especially in Brooklyn and Queens.
Her vision can and must work - it means commutes of less than 10 minutes from the Brooklyn or Queens waterfront to the city’s Pier 11 ferry terminal at the foot of Wall Street.
But the plan needs some tweaking.
I’ve shared Quinn’s vision since I started NY Waterway 21 years ago. Our Hudson River commuter ferries carry 32,000 people on 21 routes linking New York and New Jersey.
But I’ve also seen East River service fail. To duplicate the Hudson River success, Quinn and other city leaders must study the New Jersey model.
First, you need customers to ride the ferries. East River service has failed because there haven’t been passengers to pay the cost of ferry service and because service has been too limited.
Part of providing that base is coordinating bus service to bring people to the ferry landing - which helps to build a customer base for the ferry and adds value to neighborhoods further from the water.
