SCHUMER: STATEN ISLAND FERRY & OTHER NYC FERRY SERVICES MASSIVELY SHORTCHANGED BY FEDS; SENATOR SAYS ALLOCATION MUST CHANGE SO NYC FERRY COMMUTERS GET FAIR SHARE—WILL INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE MORE EQUITABLE FUNDING FOR NYC FERRIES
Federal Formula for Ferries Dish Out Funds Based On Route Length Rather Than Passengers Carried – Means New York Loses Millions of Dollars for Ferry Boats and Infrastructure Each Year
Despite Having Largest Ferry Service in America Staten Island Ferry Receives Less Than 5 Percent of Allocated Federal Funding Under New Formula
Schumer: Staten Island Ferry Deserves Its Fair Share of Federal Funding
Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer outlined his concerns about the limited amount of federal funding for New York City’s ferry system, and the unfair formula currently being used to distribute federal funds. For years, New York City’s growing commuter ferry system has received a small percentage of the national ferry funding allocation despite being one of the largest commuter ferry systems in America. New York City is currently being short changed because the federal funds are doled by a recently changed formula that emphasizes route length, versus number of passengers. This means that states that have ferries that serve comparatively few people but travel great distances, sometime only once or twice a week, are getting the lion’s share of the funds. Schumer said that this development is very concerning, especially in light of the constant growth of the Staten Island Ferry. Schumer today announced that he plans to introduce legislation to ensure a more equitable funding balance among the nation’s ferry systems.
“The bottom line is that the Staten Island Ferry moves millions of passengers every year – a significant percentage of all ferry passengers across the nation – but does not receive its fair share of federal funding, and we need to change that,” said Schumer. “This new federal funding formula puts New York City at a disadvantage because, although our ferries don’t travel a far distance, they are utilized by thousands of passengers each day. We need to make sure that the Staten Island ferry gets its fair share of federal funding.”
"Ferry service has been a major component of our efforts to expand the city's mass transit network. Like Boro Taxis, our bike lane network and the CitiBike program, the expansion of our ferry system has quickly become a critical and popular part of New York City's mass transit system. Today's announcement by Senator Schumer gets us one step closer toward ensuring that passenger ferries will receive equal weight in ferry service funding, while moving forward the continued growth of this vital transportation option. Senator Schumer has been a leader and real partner in working to revamp and realign Washington's transportation policies to place a greater emphasis on the sustainable mass transit options we need,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
The transportation reauthorization bill, Moving Ahead of Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), changed the funding allocation for FHWA’s Ferry Boat Program. Prior to these changes, funding had been distributed based on a program that while administered at the discretion of the FHWA, still did not recognize the sheer size and resource needs of NYC’s ferry operations. After the bill was passed, funding for the Ferry Boat Program changed to a formula. The new formula distributes approximately $67 million per year to entities and is calculated based on: number of passengers carried (20 percent), vehicles carried (45 percent) and total route miles (35 percent).
Under this new formula, the Staten Island Ferry alone receives only 4% ($2.58 million) of the federal funding allocated while , the rest of New York City’s ferry service, receives only 2.6% of federal funds ($1.7 million). Under the old formula, the Staten Island Ferry received approximately 4% ($2.58 million) of the national funding and New York City received 5% of federal funds ($3.39 million). According to a DOT report, total ferry ridership in Fiscal Year 2012 was 22.178 million and in the last fiscal year, the Staten Island Ferry cost taxpayers $4.86 per passenger each way. The cost per taxpayer decreased, from $5.32, since 2010.
Schumer announced that he plans to introduce legislation that will change the current federal funding formula for commuter ferries. Schumer highlighted a major concern based on the new formula, which relies more heavily on the linear route distance and vehicles carried rather than the number of passengers carried. Schumer explained that in New York City, although the Staten Island Ferry’s route is somewhat of a short distance, it transports approximately twenty percent of all passengers nationally. Under this new formula, the Staten Island Ferry receives only 4% of the federal funding allocated. Schumer said that New York City must invest tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure and new ferry boats in the coming years and establishing an equitable formula will be a key factor in the City’s ability to make those investments. Schumer also pointed to New York City’s growing East River Ferry and the need for additional federal funding for New York City’s waterfront transit-oriented development in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Schumer made the case that a more equitable funding balance is needed among the nation’s ferry systems, especially in light of Superstorm Sandy and the redundancies ferry service provide to the City’s transportation system.
Schumer today said that increased funds for the Staten Island ferry could mean that more funding can be spent on newer boats to address an aging fleet, along with repairs and maintenance.
According to New York City, the City of New York spends currently over $100 million annually to operate the Staten Island Ferry and the East River Ferry services, with over 23,000,000 annual passengers. The City also spends over $100 million annually on capital projects supporting the Staten Island Ferry and East River Ferry systems.
“In fact,” said Schumer, “New York City’s ferry services are expanding even further in the coming years after the success of the East River Ferry.”
Additional support for ferry service in the City would be welcome, especially to increase resilience of the waterfront facilities that host the ferry services. The City is currently scoping and designing for capital expenditure a number of projects that could be supported by the federal Ferry Boat Program. These include:
· Replacement of three of the largest ferryboats servicing Staten Island, necessary for modernization and continuity of service to Staten Island
· Slip replacement for Staten Island Ferry service, Lower Manhattan and St. George on Staten Island
· Preventive maintenance on the existing ferryboat fleet
· Preventive maintenance on the slips and docks