Is It Time to Start Charging For the Staten Island Ferry?
Next time someone calls you cheap for taking a date out on the free ride provided by the Staten Island Ferry, you have them know that that ride actually costs almost six dollars…in taxpayer money. The Mayor’s Management Report says that with rising costs in fuel throughout last year, the price of each ride went up almost 25% to $5.69 with the total annual tab costing the city $112 million. The Independent Budget Office has been suggesting for years that reinstating a fare to the ferry (which stopped charging 50ยข a ride in 1997) could bring in $4.3 million to a city budget that’s ailing. This year’s report pointed out that allowing Staten Islanders to continue to ride free and just making tourists pay for one of the best views of the city would net $3.4 million alone. Yet today’s NY Post says that “there’s little sentiment to reinstate any charge.
