As New York City prepares to ramp up its ferry service by opening up new terminals throughout the five boroughs, the city’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) released new data showing that ferry ridership has hit an all-time high.
In 2016, New Yorkers traveled by the East River Ferry a total of 1,584,149 times. That represents an 8 percent increase from 2015.
The data showed that the North 6th Street terminal in North Williamsburg had the highest activity during the weekdays. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Bridge/DUMBO terminal had the most weekend activity.
NYCEDC estimates that with 19 vessels operating at 21 landings across the city, the ferry service will carry approximately 4.6 million trips per year across six routes soon.
“This growing demand is one of the reasons we’re expanding ferry service citywide in 2017,” said Maria Torres-Springer, president of NYCEDC. “More and more New Yorkers are looking to our waterways to get to work or school, and that’s led to an increased East River Ferry ridership for the fourth year in a row.”
The city is set to launch the Rockaway, South Brooklyn and Astoria routes by summer 2017. Soundview in the Bronx and Lower East Side terminals will be ready in 2018.
The ferry will be another option for north Brooklyn commuters reeling from the impending L train shutdown in 2019.