The city’s Economic Development Corporation has shut down a free shuttle bus service for commuters heading to and from the 34th Street ferry landing, citing low ridership but rankling some riders.
The quasi-public agency overseeing NYC Ferry quietly announced the shuttle bus’s discontinuance on March 14, noting that while ferry ridership has rebounded post-pandemic and is now experiencing record highs, the same could not be said of the shuttle bus, which was carrying less than half of its pre-pandemic traffic.
EDC spokesperson Adrien Lesser said the shuttle was carrying an average of only 78 riders per day in 2023, 70% less than 2019 ridership and just 3% of those using the ferry landing.
“NYC Ferry has discontinued Midtown Shuttle Bus Service,” said Lesser. “This decision is helping fulfill our Ferry Forward mission of creating a more fiscally sustainable ferry system.”
One of those erstwhile regular riders, Mark Schwartz, was in Manhattan Monday for a dentist appointment. He used to ride the SeaStreak regularly from Highlands, NJ and said it used to be packed before the pandemic. Since the pandemic’s onset, he hasn’t worked in Manhattan regularly, like many other commuters.
“Oh it was packed, they had to turn people away pre-pandemic,” Schwartz told amNewYork Metro at the 34th Street ferry landing. “But I would think it would start coming back again, because everybody’s coming back to work. All the parking lots are getting full back by me.”
Schwartz described the former shuttle service as “fantastic.”
“Just the fact that there was a shuttle was great,” said Schwartz. “Because otherwise, you gotta make it across town walking, and then you’ve either got to take a bus, so you’ve gotta wait for a bus, or you gotta cab it, which is extra. So it’s just stressful.”
The shuttle bus service cross-honored fares from both the NYC Ferry and SeaStreak, which transports passengers between Midtown and New Jersey’s Highlands. Riders could take the free shuttle across town on 34th Street or uptown on Madison or Lexington avenues.
EDC advises shuttle riders to instead take the M34 or M15 Select Buses which stop nearby, but do not cross-honor a $4 ferry fare and thus cost an extra $2.90.
Ross Glick, a Manhattan resident picking up his daughter from the incoming NYC Ferry from Long Island City, said he was “surprised” that the shuttle was shuttering.
“I find that surprising, it seems like ferry ridership is increasing. And with the increase of cabs and this congestion pricing, it would seem like the ferry is even a more attractive option these days,” said Glick. “The ferry shuttle was an extra value I guess, especially with the increase in the ferry price going to $4.”
Glick postulated that he would have to start relying more on cabs or MTA buses.
The shuttle bus is not the only transit option that has struggled to recover riders. Subway ridership still hovers at about 60-70% of pre-pandemic numbers on a typical weekday, reflecting the long-term changes to how New Yorkers work brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Weekend ridership is typically higher, in the 80% range, and the MTA reasons that the actual ridership numbers are much larger due to increasing amounts of fare evasion.
Read more: Proposal to Replace Elevated FDR Drive
