NY Waterway

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Main article: Transportation in New York City

NY Waterway


Locale	Hudson County, New Jersey and New York County, New York
Waterway	New York Harbor
Transit type	Passenger ferry
Began operation	1986
No. of lines	19
No. of terminals	17
Operator	NY Waterway and BillyBey Ferry Company

NY Waterway is a private ferry system that provides commuter service and tourist excursions in New York Harbor, with service between several points in Manhattan and New Jersey, including Hoboken Terminal. It was founded in 1986 by Arthur E. Imperatore. Since then, NY Waterway has carried over 65 million passengers. NY Waterway claims to have the largest ferry and excursion fleet in the harbor.

Today, although NY Waterway appears to be a single entity, the boats and routes are in fact owned and operated by two separate companies, NY Waterway and BillyBey Ferry Company.

1 Effects on ridership due to the September 11, 2001 attacks
2 Routes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Effects on ridership due to the September 11, 2001 attacks

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center destroyed the PATH terminal located there, greatly reducing cross-Hudson River passenger capacity. To compensate, NY Waterway service was greatly expanded, adding new routes and increasing the frequency of service. To provide for this expanded service, NY Waterway needed to borrow heavily to fund the acquisition of additional vessels.

After PATH service was restored to downtown New York, NY Waterway suffered a tremendous decline in ridership that forced the company to near bankruptcy, as it was unable to reduce its fixed costs including the debt payments on the recently acquired vessels. By December of 2004, there was deep concern that there would be a total shutdown of the service, disrupting the commutes of 30,000 daily riders.^[1]

The shutdown was averted when another company, BillyBey Ferry Company, founded by Manhattan lawyer William B. Wachtel, which had never before operated ferry services, agreed to take over approximately half the operations of NY Waterway. Other New York Harbor ferry and cruise operators were concerned that the Port Authority approved the transfer without opening the process up for bidding.^[2]

At Pier 11, Wall Street

[edit] Routes

Currently, NY Waterway serves three ferry destinations in Manhattan. Each is connected to several sites in New Jersey:

Midtown at West 39th Street and the Hudson River
- Edgewater Landing, Edgewater
- Port Imperial, Weehawken
- Lincoln Harbor, Weehawken
- Hoboken / 14th St. (Hoboken North)
- Hoboken Terminal (Hoboken South)
- Newport, Jersey City
- Colgate, Jersey City (Paulus Hook)
- Belford / Harbor Way
World Financial Center in Battery Park City on the Hudson River
- Port Imperial, Weehawken
- Hoboken / 14th St. (Hoboken North)
- Hoboken Terminal (Hoboken South)
- Colgate, Jersey City (Paulus Hook)
- Belford / Harbor Way
Pier 11 at Wall Street and the East River
- Port Imperial, Weehawken
- Hoboken Terminal (Hoboken South)
- Liberty Harbor, Jersey City
- Port Liberte, Jersey City
- Belford / Harbor Way

Additionally, there are two trans-Hudson routes north of New York City, which allow commuters west of the Hudson to use the ferry to connect to the Metro-North railroad's Hudson Line which provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The two routes are between Haverstraw, New York and Ossining, New York (approximately 45 miles north of Manhattan), and between Newburgh, New York and Beacon, New York (approximately 65 miles north of Manhattan).

NY Waterway is also a leading harbor cruise company in New York City, operating sightseeing and party cruises in New York Harbor and well as special events cruises in the region. Among these is the Yankee Clipper, which provides game day service to Yankee Stadium from various points throughout the harbor.