Haverstraw-Yonkers-Manhattan ferry dropping fares May 1

By Khurram Saeed
The Journal News • April 11, 2008
 
At a time when fares, tolls and gas prices are going up, a commuter ferry service from Rockland and Westchester to Lower Manhattan is reducing its prices.
Starting May 1, commuters who take New York Water Taxi from Haverstraw will pay $360 for 40 trips, a 20 percent drop from the current $450 fare. Those who catch the ferry from Yonkers will see fares decrease from $400 to $320 for a 40-trip ticket.
Prices for one-way fares are dropping 17 percent, and 10-trip packages are going down 20 percent.
The goal is to draw more riders.
'If I suggest the ferry to a buddy, I won't get that, 'It costs too much,'' said Stony Point's Tony Suazo, who has been riding the ferry since it started service from Haverstraw in September.
Suazo, an advertising executive, used to travel to the city by bus and subway. He said he has happily been paying $100 more each month - $450 - for the 'ease of the commute,' which includes a relaxing ride down the Hudson.
New York Water Taxi and the five government agencies behind the two-year pilot program are desperate to attract more riders.
Last month, only 10 people on average boarded the 149-seat ferry from the dock on Dr. Girling Drive in Haverstraw - far below the 65 to 100 daily riders needed to consider the service a success in its first year. In Yonkers, on average, another 44 people climbed aboard. There are two runs from Rockland and four from Yonkers.
'There's no secret we want greater ridership on this,' said Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, attributing the sluggish growth to a lack of awareness and the economic downturn.
New York Water Taxi spokeswoman Stacey Sherman said the discounts, coupled with the nice spring weather, might entice people to try the ferries, which travel to the World Financial Center and Pier 11, which is near Wall Street.
'New York Water Taxi would rather have more people on the boats at a lower fare than less at a higher fare,' Sherman said.
It also doesn't hurt New York Water Taxi's cause that it's gotten more expensive to travel to Manhattan. Subway, bus, Metro-North Railroad and PATH train fares all went up in March, along with tolls on most city tunnels and bridges.
To lower fares, New York Water Taxi will accept a smaller profit, Sherman said.
By the end of its two-year run, nearly $7.5 million will have been pumped into the project by state and federal officials.
New York Water Taxi, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the city of Yonkers, Rockland County and the state Department of Transportation are partners in the project, which seeks to take single-occupancy cars off the roads to reduce congestion and pollution.
Vinne Wilson, who lives on the Yonkers waterfront and has been taking the ferry since June, said the service needed to market itself better. He has noticed more people driving from Putnam and northern Westchester to Yonkers to avoid driving into Manhattan.
'They've only been learning about it by word of mouth,' the marketing project manager said.
On average, taxpayers are paying more than $100 per rider on the New York Water Taxi ferry, although supporters contend that it takes time to change commuting habits and to build a solid base.
They point to Metro-North Railroad's and NY Waterway's ferry service, which takes commuters from Haverstraw to the train station in Ossining. About 250 people use it each weekday, a far cry from the 75 or so it averaged during its first 18 months, before more trips and faster boats were introduced.
Reach Khurram Saeed at ksaeed@lohud.com or 845-578-2412.