Dear Editor:
Issues that gain front page stories and editorials one week many times are forgotten within seven days. We must not let that happen to the matter of the ferry fare increases that earned near-banner headlines and an editorial in another newspaper just a week or so ago. We should not let questions about a 15 percent increase in the cost of a NY Waterway ferry ride to Manhattan fade in the mist of time and in the distraction from other evolving matters.
Even though one can understand the economics of a once essential but highly priced ferry service losing passengers when the far less expensive PATH to the financial district resumes operation, many questions have gone unanswered and have left the impression of profiteering in there stead.
First the other newspaper noted on September 5, 2003, that NY Waterway said it needs the extra money to “continue expanding.” There seems to be a disconnect then. If the number of riders is expected to decline, why is NY Waterway expanding? How and where does it intend to expand?
Second, for the first time since 9/11 the company will have to face competition. If it wants to survive as a viable mode of transportation, why doesn’t it lower fares in order to compete with PATH for ridership? Instead, it wants to hit passengers for more and more income.
Third, NY Waterway has already received $35 million in Federal Emergency Management funds and another $10 million in FEMA-funded capital construction projects. (It is currently under federal investigation with regard to its use of $30 million it received for the services it provided after the 9/11 attack.) Profits have risen from $2 million a year in 2000 to $6 million in 2002. NJ Transit is footing a $25 million bill to construct a ferry terminal in Weehawken to be leased to a ferry service. Since NY Waterway is the biggest of the New York Harbor ferry providers (and the largest in the country), it is certain to be the only ferry service at this new facility which is to open next year. Doesn’t NY Waterway have an obligation to set fares in a manner respectful of its ridership in return for its ready acceptance of millions of dollars of public funding?
Fourth, with their continued growth as a privately held company unanswerable to anyone, along with its dominance of ferry service, NY Waterway may well continue to make the fare box pay in any way that it wants. Will Governor McGreevey, the Port Authority and the NJDOT take steps to regulate this operation?
Thankfully, Hoboken Mayor David Roberts has taken the lead in questioning the increase, and the City Council has agreed to ask for an investigation. They should continue the pressure. An editorial in the other newspaper noted that the action of NY Waterway “invites regulation.” If we never learned anything from history about unregulated facilities, we should take out the history books and see that, no matter how much we like or wish to trust owners of such facilities to do the best for the users, some form of outside control and oversight is necessary, if for nothing else but to answer the questions. Let us keep our eyes on the target and let an investigation begin.
Quality of Life Coalition