NY Waterway is putting its free North Hudson busses to the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal back in service, with no plan to stop them again, says owner Arthur Imperatore.
Three bright red busses will resume picking commuters up beginning at Woodcliff Avenue in North Bergen, travel through North Bergen and Guttenberg on J.F.K. Boulevard East, and turn down 60th Street and take River Road to the terminal in Weehawken.
They will run every 10 minutes during peak morning and evening rush hours and every 20 minutes during off-peak hours, ending at 8:40 p.m.
Departing ferries, which leave every 10 minutes, will transport passengers to West 39th Street, lower Manhattan’s World Financial Center, and Wall Street’s Pier 11. From West 39th Street, free buses will bring riders throughout large parts of the city.
The service was popular when it was first introduced about five years ago. Then in 2006, NY Waterway decided to partner with NJ Transit’s Bus No. 23 for their riders. Commuters who had a 10-trip or monthly NY Waterway pass were allowed to take the No. 23 bus for free until NJ Transit started charging $1.50 per ride this Sept. 13.
“I thought we were saving money but by going to [NJ Transit] we literally lost millions.” – Arthur Imperatore
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“I thought we were saving money but by going to [NJ Transit] we literally lost millions,” said Imperatore.
He said that NY Waterway would not make the same mistake again. The company plans to extend the free bus service from lower and upper Fort Lee to their Edgewater terminal as well as Port Imperial.
On the commute
“We’ve tried this before and it worked, and then after the 10 minute schedule, they made it 15 and then 20,” said Guttenberg resident Elsie Ramdial as she got on the free bus last Monday.
She believed that the cost of the ferry caused people to take the NJ Transit bus straight into the city.
Ramdial said she hoped that the bus would continue at 10 minute intervals, which would enable her to catch a bus home if she gets out of work late.
Guttenberg resident Jovan Negovan said NJ Transit’s bus schedule does not sync up with NY Waterway’s, so that often after reaching the terminal, he must wait.
“I have thought about not taking the ferry anymore just because it was such a long wait on the way home, catching the connecting bus,” said Negovan.
Both agreed that they would remain ferry commuters if the busses stayed on schedule.
Bus driver Gregory Contreras said NY Waterway had just begun to draw passengers to the bus, but that it was clearly the better form of transport since “it’s no charge.”
Competing for riders
Imperatore said they planned to compete with NJ Transit because of such “tough economic times.”
“We’re not here to put down NJ Transit,” he said. “We could save a lot of money theoretically on the NY side if we were to go with the New York City busses, except then we wouldn’t have any [ferry] riders.”
Each bus will cost NY Waterway about $80,000 per year, he said. Eventually they hope to have a fleet of around 10 busses.
At the peak of the free bus era a few years ago, Imperatore said they contributed about 1,000 riders a day to Port Imperial, but that has since fallen to 200 with the NJ Transit program. He said that by once again running the business of busses and organizing a workforce, they can regain those customers, as well as bring in new riders.
By taking the free bus, theoretically North Hudson commuters can make it to midtown Manhattan in 25 minutes.
Expensive service is a ‘myth’
According to NY Waterway Vice President of Sales Catherine Baffoni, they’ve had to battle a “myth” that their service is too expensive compared to NJ Transit.
For a round trip, based on monthly passes from the two entities, she said that NY Waterway’s service was only $2 more per round trip, or about $62 a month more than NJ Transit.
“We have no subsidies,” said Imperatore. “We’re going to compete more nearly on the basis of price to get rid of that idea that we are too expensive.”
Baffoni said they will know how many commuters opt out of NJ Transit’s bus pass for their’s when monthly passes go on sale in October.
For North Bergen resident Liana Pozharsky, it was the first time she had been on the bus. She learned of the service Monday morning when her ferry pass no longer enabled a free ride on NJ Transit’s bus. She thought that it would cause competition, at least on that line.
“I’m happy with it,” said Pozharsky.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.