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Early Addition
Next time someone calls you cheap for taking a date out on the free ride provided by the Staten Island Ferry, you have them know that that ride actually costs almost six dollars...in taxpayer money. The Mayor's Management Report says that with rising costs in fuel throughout last year, the price of each ride went up almost 25% to $5.69 with the total annual tab costing the city $112 million. The Independent Budget Office has been suggesting for years that reinstating a fare to the ferry (which stopped charging 50¢ a ride in 1997) could bring in $4.3 million to a city budget that's ailing. This year's report pointed out that allowing Staten Islanders to continue to ride free and just making tourists pay for one of the best views of the city would net $3.4 million alone. Yet today's NY Post says that "there's little sentiment to reinstate any charge."
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Do it...charge for the Ferry. How about $2.00 or the cost of a trip on the subway from another island: Long Island (Queens & Brooklyn)...mkae it a Metrocard swipe for access...why not...the time for free things in NY is going, going, gone....
Why should the rest of New York be subsidizing Staten Islanders' commute to Manhattan?
I like the idea of charging the tourists, and the tourists only. A lot of them use the SI Ferry as an alternative to the higher-priced boat trips, which costs the city revenue. Make them pay for their sightseeing; don't dump it on the residents who are already taxed through the nose.
Even if they brought back the 50¢ fare, it would still be a bargain. The Roosevelt Island tram costs $2, and it's less than 5 minutes, while the ferry gives you almost 30 minutes to relax.
OK, as a Staten Islander who commutes daily to Chelsea I already pay the $2 MTA fare to ride the bus to the ferry and the train from it--just like anyone from the other 4 boroughs. The idea was to have one fee for one MTA ride in any of the five boroughs: the "free" ferry just levels the playing field.
And if I want to drive to any other borough, I have to pay a hefty bridge toll on the VN, while the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, etc. are free.
So, the question is, why should Staten Islanders be subsidizing free bridge traffic between the other four boroughs?
The Staten Island Ferry should take an MTA card.
I hope Staten Island secedes from the city.
I agree with sprit - 30 minutes to relax, 1/4 the cost.
just do it, already, dammit!!!!!!!
SI f*ckers can secede for all i care. they never would 'cuz they get way too many subsidiary benefits from all the tax dollars and business the city rakes in.
rudy's gone, so the current status quo can renege on the campaign gift.
btw, yes they can set the ferry up with the metrocard as with the PATH. sheesh, newarkians and hobokians are surviving, so can staten islanders - assholes.
They should set it up so you can do the free transfer. This way it will eliminate tourists from riding it free.
I thought the point was to obtain this major, major bucket of money from the commuters. If you let the commuters off, there is hardly any point in charging the tourists -- the receipts will be miniscule.
And then what would all the poor Mexicans, Albanians, Nigerians and other economically depressed types do? They couldn't afford the ferry and they'd be stuck on the island with all the third-tier Mafiosi.
Make bus service in S.I. free and charge 'em $5 for the ferry. And the same goes for the tourists. They didn't come to NY expecting to leave with full pockets, did they?
The only way Staten Islanders will even consider this idea is when the revenue will be earmarked for a cross-Harbor or trans-Narrows subway tunnel.
@ peanuthead
At last count, SI residents voted to secede TWICE since 1993.
I think they should just accept metrocards for the ferry like they do on those private/subsidized commuter buses and get it over with.
Oh and start charging tolls for all the free bridges!
#13: The revenue wouldn't even cover the costs of the ferry itself...how is it going to pay for a $20 billion tunnel? :)
OK, a trip from SI now involves a swipe on the SI train/bus then a tranfer swipe on the train/bus in Manhattan. if there's a third swipe to get on the ferry, then it will either be a free transfer (hence, no revenue) or another fee. If you do charge a fee, however, then the MTA's one ride, one fee rule no longer exists. So, then, why not charge $5 to go to Pelham Bay, Jamaica, or the Rockaways? Why not charge $6 or $7 for a trip in Lower Manhattan?
I thought we were trying to encourage people to take public transportation.
And again, if there's going to be a charge for the ferry, then ther should be tolls for all the bridges. It's only fair...
not EVERYONE has to take a train or bus to get to the ferry, it's your own damned fault for living where you do. I see no reason why you should get a free ride on a ferry that costs the taxpayers $6 each time.
It should cost a Metrocard swipe! and if you already rode on a bus or train, then you get a free transfer. I don't see the problem...
I also don't see how this $6 ferry ride is equivalent to crossing a bridge. That doesn't even make sense.
YAY!!! More fuckin' morons bashing on SI because of a system that, as stated previously, allows Staten Islanders to only pay one fare to get to Manhattan.
WorksinDUMBO - Sometimes it's costs that make where a person lives an issue. Asshole.
peanuthead - Get on the SI Ferry and make that same rant. Cowardly asshole.
"not EVERYONE has to take a train or bus to get to the ferry, it's your own damned fault for living where you do.... It should cost a Metrocard swipe! and if you already rode on a bus or train, then you get a free transfer. I don't see the problem..."
And you wouldn't be seeing any extra income, either, since almost all of the Staten Islanders and most of the tourists arrive at the ferry via MTA.
"I also don't see how this $6 ferry ride is equivalent to crossing a bridge."
And riding a bus is not the equivalent to riding a subway, but they both cost the same. I’m sure ther are lots of things you can’t wrap your pretty little head around.
My point (again) is that the ferry is the only free transportation link between SI and the other boroughs. If you charge for the ferry, then start charging for the bridges
Yeez, it's awfully dim under the Manhattan Bridge, isn't it, WorksinDUMBO?
ok, ok--we are all assholes. But I still don't understand. Maybe I am a stupid asshole.
If they make the ferry cost a Metrocard swipe, and you are already taking a train or bus, then the ferry won't cost you anything. You will get a free transfer. Same for your reverse commute. So what is the problem?
WorksInDumbo: If you live in Far Rockaway, Northen Bronx or Jamaica (points that are at the far ends of the MTA subway lines), it only takes one fare to get to Midtown Manhattan. If you live a comparable distance from Manhattan on Staten Island, it will cost you one fare to get to the SI Ferry, then, although you may get a free transfer at the boat, you will have to pay another fare to get on the subway in Manhattan. Remember, the free transfer only works once.
Whether people like it or not, Staten Island is still a borough of the city and Staten Islanders should be afforded the same advantages of public transportation that the rest of the city has.
You can only transfer ONCE?? I did not know that. I guess I've never had to transfer more than once, ever! OK, so I stand corrected...
--Stupid Asshole
A few points:
Staten Island has tried many times to secede. Referenda on S.I have in the past have received overwhelming support. BUT - in order to secede, such a move requires approval from the state house.
And where do half the reps in the house come from? Why, New York City!
And how do those NYC reps feel about S.I. secession? They say NO NO NO!
And why? BECAUSE STATEN ISLAND IS NEW YORK CITY'S GOOSE THAT LAYS GOLDEN EGGS!
So S.I. can have all the votes on secession it wants, b/c it's not gonna happen.
Staten Island has high per capita income for the city, yet demands a negligent share of the city's budget for social services, roads, schools, infrastructure, police, fire, etc.
Anyone in the above comments who suggest (outlandishly) that Staten Island is somehow getting a "free ride" from the city, as opposed to being a captured fiefdom sending out (i.e. being squeezed for) far more tax dollars than it gets back, is delusional.