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Ferry Exciting: East River Ferry Hits 1,000,000 Passengers
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 16, 2012
Modified Jul 16, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 16, 2012
Modified Jul 16, 2012
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In case the demand for snacks and bigger weekend boats, didn't tip you off, the East River Ferry has been something of a wild success since it was launched as a pilot program last June. How big? Well, the numbers speak for themselves.
Today Mayor Bloomberg and the BillyBey Ferry Company (which runs the service) announced that the East River Ferry has carried one million passengers in its first year—more than double the 409,000 riders it projected to. Yes, that is still short of the 20 million passengers a year that the Staten Island Ferry carries, but you gotta start somewhere.
So, huzzah for the East River Ferry! But we're with Council Member James Vacca on this one: "Every milestone in the East River Ferry Pilot brings hope that someday we will bring ferry service to all five boroughs. For too long, our waterways have been underused as transportation corridors, but this milestone clearly shows the interest is there and that this service is ripe for expansion." Bring on more boats!
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