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NYC Ferry prices are going up, but high schoolers can get discounted rates
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jul 23, 2024
Modified Jul 23, 2024
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Sanghwan Kim / Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jul 23, 2024
Modified Jul 23, 2024
Share
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Ticket prices for New York City Ferry rides will go up this fall, but all high school students in the city will now be eligible for the ferry’s discount program.
Starting on Sept. 9, regular individual tickets will rise from $4 to $4.50, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the ferry system. Bundles of 10 tickets will rise from $27.50 to $29, averaging $2.90 each.
EDC said the bundles will still allow frequent ferry riders to maintain low-cost fares that match local subway and bus rides.
For those enrolled in the NYC Ferry Discount Program, the fare will go up 10 cents, from $1.35 to $1.45, according to EDC. And starting on Sept. 1, all New York City high school students will be able to participate in the discounted fare program on weekdays to get to and from school.
The change brings the program into accordance with a law enacted last year that required the city to offer discounted fares to certain groups, including students, adults with disabilities and people 65 or older. Applications for students open on Aug. 1 and will be available on the NYC Schools Account portal and the website for the ferry's discount program.
EDC officials said the changes were part of an initiative to “support the vision for a more equitable, accessible and fiscally sustainable citywide ferry system.”
The NYC Ferry operates deeply in the red, and ticket prices are heavily subsidized — with most of the cost of any given ride covered by taxpayers. A 2022 comptroller's office report found the city vastly underreported the ferry's costs and the amount of those subsidies from 2015 through 2021. The Economic Development Authority said it's been bringing the cost of those subsidies down down, while increasing ridership.
It said that NYC Ferry had a “record-breaking” 7 million riders in fiscal year 2024.
This story has been updated to include more information about subsidies for ferry rides.
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new york city
transportation
ferry
Catalina Gonella
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