Boaters rejoice! The East River Ferry will continue to carry (some) commuters to work and (many) tourists to the Brooklyn Flea until 2019! But, seriously, any transportation vessel that makes the L train a little more bearable in the mornings deserves our everlasting gratitude.
Plus, riding a boat on a summer day is just more fun than cramming against the bodies of 50 sweaty strangers.
The ferry launched in June 2011 as a pilot program. Since then, close to 3 million passengers have cruised across the glorious brown-ish waters of the East River, tripling initial estimates. The ferry now carries 100,000 riders per month.
The only downside is that weekend rides will increase from $4 to $6. That’s a lot more than $2.50, so as much as we love getting to DUMBO in 10 minutes, the MTA wins the approval of our inner cheapskate.
from where i live the ferry is the most direct shot over to the city with my bike. an extra dollar for a bike is silly but i’ll do it when i’m running late. sort of justifiable by biking home, so i’m paying about as much as a round trip subway fare…but hiking it up to six plus a dollar for a bike? gonna start having to set my alarm a little earlier i guess.
Fear not! Weekday rides are still $4 each way ($5 with a bike). The $2 increase is only active on weekends.
Oh this is nice Brooklyn new for once. Part of me really wants to leave a post saying something funny though so here we go: COOL! I can still get to the job site from my Manhattan duplex on 32nd st!