Get Educated: Waterfront Issues
Mass Water Transit Task Force
Challenges
The waterways that define the New York - New Jersey metro area are largely untapped transportation resources. Train platforms in Penn Station and the subway tunnels along Manhattan's East Side are completely full at rush hour and most of our river crossings and highways are chronically congested. Still, our waterways are virtually empty compared to these other crowded modes. As "blue avenues," the waterways have tremendous value in at least two ways: one, they are already paid for, provided for us by nature, and so don't require costly construction to dig tunnels, lay tracks or build bridges; two, as transportation resources go, they are the most resilient resources we have - while a blackout, a labor strike and an act of terror have each paralyzed our whole transportation system in the last 6 years, the waterways have continued to flow and in many ways constituted a lifeline for millions of people and businesses impacted by these events. Still, with waterborne transportation garnering the least amount of funding from public sources, it is presently a mode of transit only for those who can afford the cost of the ticket. A ferry ride to work should be as affordable as a subway or bus ride, and the ferries should be seamlessly integrated into our mass transit system.
Resources
Efforts both in our region and around the country have produced invaluable reports and other resources that the Mass Water Transit Task Force would draw upon and employ. Some examples include:
- "Rail, Ferry or Bus? Improving Suburban Access to Lower Manhattan," Schaller Consulting, 2003
- New York City efforts to jump start ferry service to the Rockaways and along the Lower East River
- New Jersey Ferry Master Plan, 2001, New Jersey Department of Transportation
- "Vision for the Harbor District," 2006, City of New York
- "Interagency Participation Agreement" to create a unified Fare Collection System amongst six separate transit agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area, 2003
The Mass Water Transit Task Force would draw on these and many other sources.
Possible Recommendations/Starting Points for Discussion
- Make Metrocard technology the standard fare collection system device on all ferries
- Identify funding sources so that low and ultra-low sulfur diesel, and biofuel becomes standard for ferries
- Develop innovative ferry design that minimizes both damaging wakes as well as noxious air emissions
- Connect upland transit buses to every ferry landing
- Create access between central business districts and airports via ferry
- Develop region-wide master plan for ferries that links boats to landside mass transit including buses, subways and rail
- Subsidize ferries to make them competitive with other forms of mass transit
