For many years now, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner has been encouraging the powers that be with the Weehawken-based NY Waterway to offer free bus service to the ferry terminal for township residents. But the pleas fell on deaf ears.
“We had been negotiating on and off for a while,” Turner said. “But we could never work things out. We told NY Waterway that we were just about ready to implement our own shuttle bus service [courtesy of a grant from NJ Transit] and that perhaps there was a way that the two could augment each other.”
After Turner’s persistence and prodding, NY Waterway decided to offer a free service instead of charging $1 each way.
“We noticed that there was an increased amount of riders going to the ferry,” said Donald Liloia, the executive vice-president and chief operations officer for NY Waterway. “Once we saw that we gained about 200 riders from our total trips, we figured we could benefit more with a free bus service. We’re so happy with the results of the trial period that we’re making it permanent, beginning Monday.”
Starting Monday, the Troy Towers route, the Boulevard East route and the Riverbend/Jacob’s Ferry bus route will be free of charge, with buses provided by Weehawken and NY Waterway.
“The township of Weehawken is committed to solving our residents’ problems for accessing the waterfront,” Turner said. “This will further improve our quality of life. We’ll cut down on traffic during the rush hours. We’re currently looking at the best ways to integrate our shuttle bus service with theirs. It would have been hard for us to implement a program on our own.”
NY Waterway’s shuttle bus will continue to pick up passengers during the peak rush hour times, only it will no longer charge passengers the additional buck to ride. When Weehawken gets its own shuttle bus working, it will operate during off hours and weekend hours. Weehawken’s own shuttle will also transport passengers to Lincoln Harbor, where the NY Waterway buses strictly go to the ferry terminal.
“It’s an enticement to want commuters to use the ferry,” Turner said. “We’re still working out the schedules, but it’s a win-win for everyone. I know that residents have been irritated by the idea of having to pay an additional $2 ($1 each way) to get to the ferry, then pay again. They’re going to pick up more passengers and we’re getting more cars off our streets. It’s a tremendous convenience, and what’s more important is that we’re not wasting money by duplicating services.”
By virtue of this agreement, NY Waterway has also agreed to maintain the township-owned bus.
“It’s a great reciprocal agreement,” Turner said. “We’re going to be able to move more people back and forth to upper and lower Weehawken.”
While the program will include and benefit residents from West New York, North Bergen and Guttenberg, Liloia credited the work of Turner for getting the deal done.
“They all benefit from Richard Turner’s persistence,” Liloia said. “We’re including all of the local areas and making the shuttle service free of charge. It’s a case where we’re extending ourselves to the local communities, but we get more riders and get better participation from the commuters. It’s definitely win-win for everyone and it makes perfect sense.” For ferry/bus schedules and other information, click on www.nywaterway.com or call 1-800-53-FERRY.