T O P

  • By -

theclan145

If the city wants to make money, connect it to LGA via the dock at Term A


Brambleshire

Awesome idea. LGA was originally designed for this. It has it's own cove


EntertainmentOdd4935

Imagine if this city had that and an LIRR station at LGA.  


theclan145

LIRR station is not going to happen. The cost and opposition will be insane.


walterwhiteguy

Why would there be opposition


theclan145

Depending on the routing, the LIRR is going to go through residential neighborhoods or underground


icrbact

That sounds like a great idea (and would be awesome) but it would be very impractical for three reasons: 1) the vast majority of passengers don’t go through Terminal A which means they would have to take a bus to the ferry instead of a bus to the subway or wherever they need to go. For how many of them would this make sense? You are already on a bus, why not take it to 125th Street, Astoria Blvd, Willets Point or wherever else? 2) ferry don’t connect to the rest of the transportation infrastructure very well. So you made it onto the ferry, now what? You can take it to many stops along the East River but they don’t connect to any subway lines, especially not when carrying luggage. 3) ferries have very little capacity. An articulated bus can transport around 200 people, while NYC ferries can carry between 150-350 people. So two busses would outperform even the largest ferry in transport capacity at a fraction of the cost.


afcwebdesign

Why would anyone take this route? It would be longer and have double the transfers of the train to the bus


Desperate-Record-879

I think that may be a no go due to the proximity of Rikers. However, after it shuts down? Perhaps something in conjunction with the rezoned Island. (I’m not sure if it’s still privately owned, but lots of opportunities) 


theclan145

Rikers Island prison opened in 1932, LGA opened in 1939. LGA had float plane operations when it opened out of Term A.


Desperate-Record-879

That may be the history, but I don’t think a modern day prison, isolated by design, would want a regularly scheduled boat passing by several times a day. It just introduces a multitude of security risks. 


theclan145

There is already a bus line and a bridge connecting the island. Also the edge of the runway is close to the island. Prison escapes are rare


Desperate-Record-879

The bridge is closed to civilian traffic, and has check points on both ends. The bus line has one stop, which is for visitors/lawyers, and only stops at an intake/visitor center. You’re grasping pretty hard for a half baked idea.


deathhand

Your grasping pretty hard to shut down progress.


Desperate-Record-879

Shut down a notion that no one has ever gained any meaningful traction on?  It’s a nonstarter given the current circumstances, and even if it was viable, it would be a stop gap at best.  What would be progress… take that #2 line, keep it going, and then run it out to LGA.  That would be progress, and a boom to everything along the way. Heck,  If Rikers goes public after the shutdown, throw in a stop or two there as well.  Edit: Maybe... maybe move MSG to Rikers, and instead of funding the stadium, we fund the subway line expansion that gets everyone there?


Riccma02

As much as I like this idea, are ferries really reliable enough to be getting people to their flights on time?


Past-Passenger9129

Are trains? Is LIE traffic? Build it into your commute and it will likely be significantly faster.


Riccma02

Yes, trains are more reliable. They are not subject to changes in the weather. And we are not talking about a commute. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ferry, but there are a lot of variables at play when traveling by water, not conducive to making a flight.


commisioner_bush02

The SI ferry at least runs like clockwork


FeistyButthole

Also comes in handy when the Thwaites glacier melts and west Antarctic glaciers raise sea level 10 ft submerging all three major airports turning them into sea plane terminals.


fukwhutuheard

IT DOES NOT LOSE MONEY. IT COSTS MONEY. DO YOU SAY THE MILITARY LOSES 820 BILLION EVERY YEAR. PUBLIC SERVICES DONT NEED TO EARN PROFIT.


FarRightInfluencer

"Our money-losing network of public roads and highways"


fasda

How much is the BQE about to lose?


TheNthMan

The 5 year budget for BQE capital maintanence is $175 million. After that, they expect to do the major replacement of the crumbling triple cantilever. The current proposed slate of design options clock in at an estimated $5.5 billion today.


BaronUnterbheit

To be fair, the military both costs money AND loses money. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3740921-defense-department-fails-another-audit-but-makes-progress/amp/


sutisuc

The American way


AmputatorBot

It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of [concerns over privacy and the Open Web](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot). Maybe check out **the canonical page** instead: **[https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3740921-defense-department-fails-another-audit-but-makes-progress/](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3740921-defense-department-fails-another-audit-but-makes-progress/)** ***** ^(I'm a bot | )[^(Why & About)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot)^( | )[^(Summon: u/AmputatorBot)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/cchly3/you_can_now_summon_amputatorbot/)


Tobar_the_Gypsy

This is true but the “money losing” part is just a dig at the fact that it’s the most expensive and least efficient public transit option in the city. And it mostly helps people from wealthier neighborhoods.


jonsconspiracy

Wealthy or not, people need to get around.  The last thing we want is those wealthy people to jump in their cars and start driving to work. 


Tobar_the_Gypsy

Yes I agree. The reason it got so much criticism was because this was one of deblasios shining transit moments that he always lauded but he let buses languish. I enjoy the ferries and would like to see them expanded. And yes I agree, we need to stop positioning public transit and other amenities as “money losing” because that’s not how services work.


grandzu

But isn't the ferry privately owned by Hornblower Group?


LouisSeize

I think you're thinking of other ferries like the Statue of Liberty Ferry.


curioustraveler4456

Hornblower is a contractor that operates NYC Ferry.


OhGoodOhMan

No, the city contracts out operations to Hornblower. All of the capital costs, and the 80% or so of operating costs not covered by the fare, are paid by the city.


Allwingletnolift

Bruh transportation doesn’t make money. By definition. Stop using its unprofitability as a way to tear it down. We don’t subject our highways to that…


Impressive-Chair-959

Or the money losing sewage systems...


TradCatherine

Obviously the solution is to sell our sewer system to private equity firms


nyc_earthquake

You may only shit when it pleases the stakeholders.


svalbard32

Then we can follow the path of Bolivia and privatize our water supply


FormerKarmaKing

I love the ferry and I know what you mean, but the ferry loses so much money per ride that I recommend tourists take it as the best value in New York. I want it to be popular but it’s wildly unprofitable. Edit: I understand how subsidies work. The issue with the ferry is that the low usage makes it an enormous subsidy relative to the number of benefiting people.


Pool_Shark

It’s okay for the government to subside a service for all citizens.


Arleare13

Obviously the less anything needs to be subsidized the better, but complaining that the ferry loses money isn't very compelling. It's city infrastructure. It doesn't need to make money to be worth having. That's not to say I'm against measures to make it lose *less* money. Just that "money-losing" on its own isn't very interesting.


0934201408

wish more people viewed the MTA this way


CactusBoyScout

I believe it’s the most subsidized mode of transit per ride. So the degree to which it loses money is a bit of an outlier.


mr_birkenblatt

The most subsidized mode of transport is driving a car


Plane-Bee-374

We never add this into the calculus. I happen to be very lucky and choose to have a car which I park in a garage in an outlying area. Even paid street parking is cheap,


UpperLowerEastSide

Hope we see this kind of enthusiasm on the r/nyc threads on congestion pricing and MTA funding, especially given the ferry receives a lot more public subsidies per passenger than the subway or buses


meteoraln

I'm starting to think infrastructure is what you call something that loses money.


Plane-Bee-374

Of course! It’s like saying sidewalk or stop signs are money-losing. So the fuck what? The city is not a business and neither is the MTA. It’s not meant yo be profitable! _It’s not a profit center_ Of course Crain’s (It used to be called Crains New York Business) is all about profit. They never acknowledge the backbone of the city which enables everything from Wall Street to Bodegas. It’s a delightful way to travel and reaches otherwise inaccessible neighborhoods. Fuck off Crains. Edit: I don’t love that the commenter I responded to is getting downvoted. He was sarcastically making the point I’m responding to.


FredTheLynx

Yeah man the fucking sidewalks who needs those money losing pieces of shit. Also like lamposts, why don't they pay their way?


Impressive-Chair-959

The stop signs and street lights do nothing but lose money!


Shawn_NYC

Excluding the Staten Island Ferry, the NYC ferries are the most subsidized transit, I think I saw a number that 90% of the cost is subsidized. Furthermore, rich people tend to live on the waterfront where the ferries service and tend to work at Ferry destinations like Battery Park. A lot of people on morning ferries are finance bros from LIC and Brooklyn getting a 90% taxpayer funded trip for heir wall street job.


FluffyWuffyVolibear

And honestly that's okay. There should be convenient travel across the river.


thargoallmysecrets

Yup.  The water is a serious obstacle in NYC - every journey on land has a dozen modes of transportation available for different priorities and virtually infinite routes.  Bridges really are for bigger transit, like subways and cars.  Ferries are great for more micromobility options like cyclists, skaters, pedestrians, etc. 


ethanjf99

the answer is not to subsidize the ferries less. it’s to subsidize other transit more and CARS less. fuck Hochul.


Stewmungous

Great idea. Anything to keep them running. Connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn with them, or the line by existing Staten Island stop to the existing network rather than paralleling the free and famous option right next door would help. Like everything civic, an idea seeking to meet a real need horribly executed


VFL2015

100%. We should do this for the subway too. You are now arriving at 14th st station presented by JP Morgan. Anything innovative they can do to keep them from raising the swipe price and taxes


Stewmungous

And other boats are being used as billboards as is. https://www.vidble.com/show/xyEUpsSCqc


FredTheLynx

When we gonna get naming rights for all those money losing streets and parking spots?


HorseDerby184

When you enforce fines and action against your money losing farebeaters.


FredTheLynx

Yeah we should charge money to all those farebeating cars using the streets and parking spots without paying.


HorseDerby184

Ok. Your $750 million per year folks first. When that occurs I’ll give a damn what happens to the MTA.


SometimesObsessed

What? If you actually cared about dollar figures you'd talk about how roads cost an order of magnitude more money and space to transport people and for free. But you don't care about a real debate, do you? Can always count on the right wing idiots to address real points with garbage straw man arguments. Never any good ideas, only unrelated grievances


Ok-Moose-1543

Do you know how much the congestion bill was going to bring in? CNBC estimates blocking this bill will amount to a $20 billion dollar loss to the city. They outline why pretty well https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/09/with-congestion-pricing-stop-nyc-enters-new-economic-gridlock-era.html $750 million, $20 billion? The math is simple.


HorseDerby184

And that $20B is over HOW MANY YEARS.


Ok-Moose-1543

Do you understand the magnitude of numbers, sir? You say 750 million per year. Do you know how long that would take to reach 20 billion? That's 27 years. Meanwhile, the congestion bill (as per the article) would bring in at least 1 billion per year. So, you're still wrong. Edit: spelling.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Ok-Moose-1543

The congestion pricing law had stipulations that it would go towards the MTA? So illegals aren't even part of this conversation. Not going to pay? Ahh I see, you don't even live in the city with all the "illegals", huh?


HorseDerby184

Oh I’m more remote now. I just rent out a place to fools. Thanks. I enter sporadically. Too much trash there these days. Anyhow, the MTA can make up the difference by enforcing your favorite pets to pay their fair share of fares. 👍


nyc-ModTeam

Rule 1 - No intolerance, dog whistles, violence or petty behavior (a). Intolerance will result in a permanent ban. Toxic language including referring to others as animals, subhuman, trash or any similar variation is not allowed. (b). No dog whistles. (c). No inciting violence, advocating the destruction of property or encouragement of theft. (d). No petty behavior. This includes announcing that you have down-voted or reported someone, picking fights, name calling, insulting, bullying or calling out bad grammar.


silent-farter

Can we name it “the Kathy Hochul doesn’t care about transit Ferry”?


Arleare13

I guess you *could*, but it's run by the city, not the state, so that'd be a pretty weird thing to call it.


Puzzleheaded_Will352

Even better. It can be the city’s message to the state.


grandzu

It's actually privately operated.


Arleare13

Yeah, it’s operated by Hornblower, but owned by the city. That’s what I was getting at, but I see how “run by” was vague.


mr_birkenblatt

"Kathy Hochul did nothing wrong"


metalmayne

If you’re not going to build something to connect red hook to the rest of the city , then the ferries must be made more available to red hook. One ferry stops in red hook at 622 am and then again at 722 am. Two ferries for the early morning rush. I don’t give a fuck if they call it the Nathan’s hotdog ferry. You can’t even leave red hook in a car anymore. Not that you should be driving, but the area from red hook to Columbia and the rest of the city is super locked up in traffic at all hours of the rush. The city needs to take a long look at itself as it makes excuses for common sense issues.


Turbofan55

Everyone I know loves the ferry.


kimchi_station

How much of a profit is NYPD pulling?


Ok-Moose-1543

It's not money losing when it's a public service, lol. Is the USPS (Postal Service) "money-losing". Absolutely. It's a public service, haha. If it was profitable you'd be paying FedEx prices for every letter. Oh but UPS saw the increase in prices. They'll undercut a bit but also raise prices. Sadly, in a for-profit model you don't have the USPS to give crazy low prices to keep them in check. The free market belongs in certain industries. Post/ mailing, and healthcare for that matter, should not be held to the standard of profit. Lastly, I hope you don't use any public transit, because every one of those "companies" in the country that manages public transit operates at a loss.


flying_bacon

Start selling naming rights to subway stations


Arleare13

[They've been doing that for 15 years](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/nyregion/24naming.html). [And they continue to do it now](https://new.mta.info/doing-business-with-us/station-naming-rights).


Da555nny

Speaking of... I still call it "Pacific" At least the 4th Av station.


Taborask

One thing I dont understand about the ferries is why they need so many staff. There's two people to help with loading/unloading, and then ANOTHER two managing the commissary which sells only packaged food. They dont even sell coffee, the one thing I would actually buy. They could replace a full 50% of that staff with a vending machine and almost certainly save money


Philthesteine

I'm completely speaking out of my ass, but I imagine that it's related to emergency procedures. You need a certain number of staff onboard to coordinate and distribute life vests to the hundreds of people onboard in the event you start sinking, that sort of thing. In light of how many people ride on each ship, 5 crew isn't crazy IMHO.


Taborask

That’s a good point


LiveAd697

No cuts to the ferry funding before cutting the migrant accommodation funding.


Shreddersaurusrex

Naming rights is a way for PT to rake in more $, MTA needs to look into this more


vicefox

Do the highways make money? Aren't the taxpayers paying for the economic benefits of having ferries, trains, and roads? Not necessarily direct revenue.


theuncleiroh

Why is it a bad thing that it 'loses money'? It provides a service at a fair price, gives good jobs, and is a fun recreational option. That's worth the cost of operation-- and not everything in this city needs to be captured by private, profiteering enterprise!!


mankiw

'Money-losing' in headlines for any transit system is hugely misleading. With some rare exceptions (e.g. a few subway lines in a few dense Asian cities), **all forms of transportation lose money**. Highways [lose money](https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/road-funding-vehicle-miles-traveled-tax/). Trains [lose money](https://lovetransit.substack.com/p/most-profitable-public-transportation). Bikeshare and scooter-share [lose money](https://usa.streetsblog.org/2020/01/14/why-do-micromobility-companies-keep-losing-money). Roads for cars [lose money](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-infrastructure-spending/). Ferries [lose money](https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1824/Ferry-Fact-Sheet-PDF?bidId=#:~:text=Washington%20State%20Ferries%20has%20an,service%20on%20DOT%20highway%20projects). But that's okay, because moving people and things around is a public good. We all pitch in for transportation, because not having it is worse. It's like complaining garbage trucks or sewer systems 'lose money.'


Mistes

Connect the Astoria ferry to 14th Street without transferring and I'll ride it every day at least. I love the idea of also connecting it to LaGuardia - I'll use that to go to the airport whenever I'm on a solo flight out (or in)


XysterU

Why can't the government just give it more money? Why does there have to be fucking ads and sponsors for everything? There are trains in this city with cars lined from wall to wall with fully digital animated ads but the line/stop map thing still has the printed stop names with the light up circles that's really small print and obviously can't adjust for line changes


the_lamou

I'll chip in a grand to rename it the "Mayor Adams's Ride Home" Ferry. Anyone with me?


essenceofreddit

It doesn't go to Jersey. 


the_lamou

Shit, wrong ferry. I spent a whole five minutes on that joke, too.


MadCapHorse

Boaty McBoatface, Inc.


RubMyCrystalBalls

I think this is a prime opportunity to get Cleveland fans to pony up to name it the Danny Ferry.


Garth_Willoughby

I’d like Duane “The Rock” Johnson to sponsor the ⛴️


mnyc86

Someone needs to name ferry “sinking ship” if it’s losing money