East River ferry service may become permanent, request for proposals issued

Image source: Otterman56 on Flickr

The Queens Chronicle reports that the establishment of future East River ferry service is looking good – the local politicians want to make it a permanent transit option. The current service is part of a 3 year pilot project, with the BillyBey Ferry Company as the current operator until June 2014. Originally, the ridership projections were 1.3 million for the three years (2011-2014). At this point 1.6 million passengers have ridden the ferry in just a year and a half.

Mayor Bloomberg said about the East River ferry service, “Ferry service along the East River continues to be incredibly popular, both for commuters and weekend travelers. We now have the opportunity to build upon this success and sustain this essential part of our transportation vision well into the future.” After Hurricane Sandy, the ferries were the first form of transit to start operating, while subway service and some bus service was hampered by storm damage and debris.

In Queens, the ferry dock is located in the Hunters Point area of LIC (GMAP). Ferry service was also implemented between the Rockaways and Manhattan after Hurricane Sandy hit.

At this point, a request for proposals (RFP) has been issued by the city. Companies interested in submitting proposals should indicate how they would run the ferry, how they would maintain it. Whichever operator wins the bid will run the ferry system for five more years after the current program ends in June 2014. The submission deadline for proposals is March 1, 2013 at 4pm. The RFP can be accessed here.

East River Ferry in LIC here to stay [Queens Chronicle]
Rockaways will have temporary ferry service starting Monday 11/12/12 [QNYC]