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The Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry
Route of the Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry runs between the New York boroughs of Staten Island and Manhattan. It operates for free, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, transporting over 20 million people between the St. George ferry terminal, Staten Island and the Whitehall ferry terminal at South Ferry, Lower Manhattan.
The ferry is that rarest of things. A practical piece of local infrastructure that carries allows the population to go about there daily business whilst being an icon of the the tourist industry giving visitors unparalleled views of the New York waterfront and the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan..
Tourists can savor the views as the ferry chugs passed the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Ellis Island and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
Sharing the experience with New Yorkers as they lead their lives helps to bring the city into focus and makes for a fantastic experience.
And all for free.
Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Lower Manhatten
Staten Island Ferry at night
Staten Island Ferry Stats
- 75,000 passengers a day, average
- 109 daily crossings
- 33,000 annual crossings
- The route is 5..2 miles
- 25 minute crossing time
- The New York City Department of Transport has run the service since 1905
- From 1897 to 1975 the ferry journey cost a nickel
- The round trip fare rose to a quarter in 1975, 50 cents in 1997 and was abandoned in 1997
- 10 ferries run the route
- The ferry stopped carrying vehicles after 9/11
MV John F. Kennedy
Incidents and Accidents
There have been motor ferries of one sort or another running between Manhatten and Staten Island since 1817, and there have been been numerous incidents and accidents,
In 1871, 85 people were killed and hundreds more injured when the boiler of the ferry Westfield exploded and in 1901 the ferry Northfield sank after being hit by a Jersey Central Ferry. out of 995 passengers 5 were unaccounted for.
The Westfield disaster was the main reason the ferry service was taken over by the City in 1905.
Staten Island Ferry Incidents & Accidents in Modern Times
Date
| Ferry
| Incident
|
|---|---|---|
Feb 8th, 1958
| Dongan Hills
| Hit by the tanker Tynefield. 15 injured
|
Nov 7th 1978,
| American Legion
| Crashed into concrete wall near Statue of Liberty ferry port in fog. 173 injured
|
May 16th, 1981
| American Legion
| Rammed in fog by freighter
|
July 7th, 1986
| Samuel I. Newhouse
| A homeless Cuban refugee attacked passengers with a sword, killing 2 and wounding 9
|
April 12th, 1995
| Andrew J. Barberi
| Several passengers injured when the ferry rammed into the slipway at St.George ferry terminal
|
September 19th, 1997
| John F. Kennedy
| A car fell of the ferry as it docked. The driver and a member of crew who went overboard in the incident, were both slightly injured
|
Oct 15th, 2003
| Andrew J. Barberi
| The ferry hit a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal killing 11, injuring many and ripping a hole through 3 passenger decks
|
July 1st, 2009
| John J. Marchi
| Ferry lost all power, hit the pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal. 15 injured.e
|
May 8th, 2010
| Andrew J. Barberi
| Reverse gear(thrust) failed approaching the St. George ferry Terminal. The ferry hit the dock, injuring 37
|
On Board the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferries
- Spirit of America
- John J. Marchi
- Guy V. Molinari
- Samuel I. Newhouse
- Andrew J. Barberi
- John F. Kennedy
- John Noble
- Alice Austen
- Michael Cosgrove
- American legion
MV John J. Marchi
Evening Ferry
Staten Island Terminal Locations
