NY Waterway to Restore Port Liberte Ferry Service
NY Waterway has been selected to provide ferry services five days a week on Jersey City’s southernmost coast in Greenville, N.J.
Mayor Steven M. Fulop, Councilwoman Denise Ridley and the Department of Infrastructure announced a resolution awarding the contract for services out of the Port Liberte Ferry Terminal, which the City of Jersey City recently acquired.
Additionally, utilizing $4 million in State grant funding, ferry fares to and from the Port Liberte terminal will be discounted by nearly 40% from previous levels to $8.00 each way.
The resolution will be introduced at the next City Council meeting on May 24, 2023.
“We acquired the ferry terminal to have an active role in subsidizing rates and providing greater and more equitable access to critical transportation services that our residents from Greenville to Bergen-Lafayette need,” said Mayor Fulop. “We are exceeding our goals in closing transportation gaps and expanding our transit infrastructure through Via Jersey City, which we launched in 2020. The Port Liberte Ferry Terminal was previously an underutilized asset. With this resolution, we will make the most of our existing resources and connect residents to the terminal who may not otherwise have access to ferry services.”
NY Waterway had previously operated out of the Port Liberte Ferry Terminal until service was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to resume. In 2022, Mayor Fulop proposed the acquisition to provide residents of the Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette neighborhoods with another public transit option to New York City. The ordinance to acquire the terminal for $1.00 was passed by the City Council last June.
Pending approval of the contractual agreement by the Municipal Council, ferry service is expected to resume this summer.
“NY Waterway is delighted to be provisionally selected as the new operator for commuter ferry service out of Port Liberte,” said Armand Pohan, NY Waterway’s President and CEO. “We submitted a highly competitive service proposal and are thrilled that we are getting the opportunity to fulfill it. We look forward to finalizing our agreement with Jersey City and launching this new service as soon as possible.”
Ferry services at the Port Liberte Ferry Terminal began operation in April 2003, providing residents with a 17-minute direct trip to Pier 11 in Manhattan. The average annual ridership for the route was approximately 83,000. The one-way fare rate for adult riders in 2020 was $13.00.