Why do people ride the Staten Island Ferry?

The nine-vessel fleet shepherds 22 million people every year, or roughly only one third of all the people who reside in and visit NYC. With 117 daily trips that showcase views of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island, the ferry serves not just as a journey but also a destination unto itself.



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The ferry is also popular among tourists and visitors due to the free-of-charge views of the New York Harbor a trip provides.

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The Ferry operates between the St. George Terminal on Staten Island and the Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan. The trip is about 25 minutes. The Ferry ride is free. All passengers are required to comply with applicable U.S. Coast Guard Security Regulations regardless of which level they board from.

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The Staten Island Ferry provides service every day, year-round. It is free to ride the ferry. Travel time in either direction between St. George and Whitehall is approximately 25 minutes.

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When departing from Manhattan, the trip to Staten Island takes about 25-30 minutes. Once arriving in St. George terminal, the ferry docks and all passengers have to exit the ferry.

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Due to the smaller size of the boat, the trip was a bit less smooth than what riders of the Staten Island Ferry have come to expect, with choppy water resulting in a bumpy ride at one point.

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The Staten Island Ferry boasts a 24-hour schedule. That's right: it never stops. It takes trips every half hour on the half hour, and every 20 minutes during rush hour. Each ferry has a capacity of around 5,000 people, and daily ridership frequently tops 70,000 passengers a day.

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To put cars on the ferry would require a major security checkpoint, DeSimone said. It's not as simple as just driving down here, there's a whole bevy of regulations the Coast Guard would require. Vehicles haven't been allowed on the Staten Island Ferry since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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BEST VIEW: Hands down, the best view on land is from atop One World Observatory. Located in the southern most part of Manhattan, it's the closest observation deck to the Statue of Liberty, giving you the most intimate view possible from land.

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NYC DOT operates the Staten Island Ferry, providing free service between Staten Island and Lower Manhattan every day of the week, year-round.

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Eliminating the ferry fare was seen as an action to standardize Staten Islanders' MetroCard fares with those of commuters in other boroughs. Despite the fact that the ferry fare had netted $6 million in annual revenue for the city, its abolition only cost the city about $1 million.

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When departing from Manhattan, the trip to Staten Island takes about 25-30 minutes. Once arriving in St. George terminal, the ferry docks and all passengers have to exit the ferry. So you can't stay on it.

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It's FREE and you can either get off and spend some time on Staten Island, or simply disembark, walk around and get back on the ferry returning to Manhattan. It is about an hour round-trip.

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The Ferry runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In 2022, the Staten Island Ferry's annual on-time performance was 94%. On a typical weekday, five boats make 117 trips, carrying approximately 35,000 passengers. During rush hours, the ferry runs on a four-boat schedule, with 15 minutes between departures.

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