Mayor: NYC ferries could serve 9 million passengers by 2023

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that the city would pump an additional $300 million into the NYC Ferry service — nearly twice as much taxpayer money as originally planned — to pay for a larger fleet, a second home port and other infrastructure upgrades to accommodate new rider projections.

The year-old service could carry as many as 9 million passengers a year by 2023, twice as many as projected before the program began, de Blasio said in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

“This is key to a future of New Yorkers being able to get around more easily and being able to have the kind of choices that they deserve,” de Blasio said. “The thing that really decides so much of your life: getting from point A to point B. If you don’t have access to transportation that works, you don’t have access to education; you don’t have access to jobs; you certainly don’t have the quality of life you deserve.”

NYC Ferry serves routes between four boroughs at $2.75 for a one-way ticket. The city’s funding announcement comes as it gears up to launch its last two planned routes in the coming months — the Lower East Side and Soundview routes. Despite service interruptions during storms and several ferry groundings during which riders had to be rescued, the system was more popular in its first year than even the city had expected. Ridership rates forced the service’s operator, Hornblower, to charter boats, while the city allotted millions to add three new larger vessels to its ferryboat order.

The city has allocated roughly $335 million to launch the service, including $30 million for year-to-year operating costs. The new capital money will be spent over tthe next five years, with $35 million to be included in the city’s next pending budget.

James Patchett, president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, which oversees ferry operations, said the city expects the per-rider ferry subsidy of $6.60 to remain at that level.

Despite de Blasio’s claims that the ferries help a “huge” number of residents, the boats serve only a tiny fraction of the city’s daily commuters. While the city expects 9 million riders each year by 2023, the state-run MTA’s subways and buses combined serve roughly 7 million people each day — and with lower subsidies. Even Citi Bike, which receives no taxpayer money, far exceeds the ferry service in trips. The bike share tallied 16.3 million rides last year.

With the new money, the city will target infrastructure improvements at its two main ferry terminals, Pier 11/Wall Street and East 34th Street. It will widen passenger gangways and add new bow-loading locations to accommodate higher commuter volumes while allowing more boats to be docked simultaneously. It will also purchase more boats to double the capacity of the service. The city is currently awaiting the delivery of the remaining four boats from its initial 20-boat order.