Save our Ferries!
NYWaterway going under?
Attention everybody in the New York metropolitan area, especially those who on occasion need to get from one place to another! You may not have seen this news item, because no editor for any mainstream news organization has given it much play. So, EXCUSE MEEEEEEE! Yo! Hu-looooo-O? It appears that a significant piece of our public transit system is in danger of going under. Somebody needs to do something, fast.
I got this passenger advisory today from NYWaterway, the nation's largest privately owned ferry system:
Important Passenger Advisory
NY Waterway
For 18 years, NY Waterway has been providing safe, convenient, environmentally-friendly commuter ferry service, and we do not anticipate any imminent service interruptions.
We are in discussions with government officials to address revenue shortfalls caused by soaring oil prices, the continuing effects of a diminished job market in Lower Manhattan and a greater than anticipated dropoff in ridership due to the resumption of the PATH service. We have every confidence that these discussions will be successful and we will keep you updated.
We thank you, our customers, for your loyalty and support.
Both The New York Times and The Bergen County Record picked up the story this morning, but neither gave it the kind of play it deserved.
I have two suggestions for solving this problem.
1) It's time for the Port Authority to take over. (And to you conservatives start hollering, "Oh nooooo! Socialized public transit! We can't have that!" -- take the subway.)
2) New York Water Taxi needs to function more like a taxi, rather than a shuttle boat, and it needs to serve this side of the Hudson as well as the New York side.
If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. More suggestions as they develop.
Meanwhile, we need our politicians on the case right away. I know they're busy campaigning, but this is urgent. On 9/11, 2001, the ferries were the only way off the island of Manhattan for thousands of people, and the ferry buses also helped people get home.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @5:31 PM
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22.10.04 |
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