Today, our transportation systems are becoming increasingly crowded. Roadway delays are growing with bottlenecks at the water crossings expanding beyond the usual commuter periods. Many links in the transit system are at or beyond capacity, including subway, commuter rail and bus entries to Manhattan. Commuter rail parking facilities are oversubscribed at many locations. Travel within and between suburbs is growing still faster. Our Region is expected to grow, adding 4 million more people and 3 million more jobs by 2030.
Given New York’s natural harbor, the Hudson and East rivers, Long Island Sound and hundreds of miles of waterfront in the New York Region, it is unsurprising that there is considerable interest in ferry transportation. Yet, there is widespread concern that the future growth of passenger ferries 1 is capped, and that most of the markets where ferries can be successful have been found. Even the existing ferry services are in trouble as higher costs endanger their continuation.
Ferries can provide an option where ground options are slow and crowded. Ferries can be a catalyst for development and redevelopment along the Region’s underused waterfront. And ferries can be used in emergencies and offer redundancy in cases where ground modes are disabled, as happened on 9/11. If we believe that ferries offer both a choice for many travelers and a can assist in meeting the Region’s growth needs, then it is imperative to work towards retaining and expanding the ferry network in the Region.
It is with this goal in mind that this paper first briefly sketches the recent history and current status of ferry services in the Region and what it teaches us, and then focuses on the barriers that now limit the potential for growth of ferry services, suggesting the directions to be taken to overcome these barriers.