Staten Island Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. It runs 5.2 miles (8.4 km) in New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. The ferry operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, running every 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes at other times. Since 1997, the Staten Island Ferry has been fare-free, though historically, it has charged a relatively low fare compared to other modes of transit in the area. The Staten Island Ferry is one of several ferry systems in the New York City area, besides NYC Ferry, SeaStreak, New York Water Taxi, and NY Waterway. 'The Staten Island Ferry operates between Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan and St. George Terminal in St. George, Staten Island. At Whitehall Street, connections are available to the New York City Subway and several local New York City Bus routes. On the other end, passengers can take the Staten Island Railway, the only rapid transit service on the island, or one of many buses available at the St. George Bus Terminal, the main bus terminal on the island. 'The Staten Island Ferry was formed in 1817 when the Richmond Turnpike Company started a steamboat service from Manhattan to Staten Island. Cornelius Vanderbilt bought the company in 1838, and it was merged with two competitors' companies in 1853. That company was in turn sold to the Staten Island Railroad Company in 1864. The Staten Island Ferry was then sold to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1884, and the City of New York assumed control of the ferry in 1905, buying five new ships for the service. Other publicly- and privately-operated ferry routes from Staten Island to Brooklyn were created in the early 20th century but were decommissioned by the mid-1960s. By 1967, the ferry was the only commuter ferry within the entire city, after the discontinuation of a ferry from Manhattan to Hoboken, New Jersey. A fast ferry route from Staten Island to Midtown Manhattan ran briefly from 1997 to 1998, with proposals to revive the route resurfacing in the 2010s. 'The Staten Island Ferry remains popular due to the lack of transit connections between Staten Island and the other boroughs, including Manhattan. With 23.9 million riders as of fiscal year 2016, the Staten Island Ferry is the single busiest ferry route in the United States as of 2016, as well as the world's busiest passenger-only ferry system.

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