Q&A
Concerns and discussion about reduction in evening ferry services
1:56:48
·
113 sec
Council Member Restler expresses concerns about reduced evening ferry services on the East River route and its impact on commuters. James Wong from EDC responds by explaining the trade-offs in service planning and improvements made during peak hours.
- Restler highlights the difficulty for late-night commuters due to reduced evening services
- He mentions struggles during the G train shutdown when EDC didn't add additional ferry service
- Wong explains that while evening services were reduced, more frequent service was added during peak summer hours
- EDC focuses resources on times of highest demand due to finite resources
Lincoln Restler
1:56:48
There you go.
1:56:50
Sorry?
1:56:51
No.
1:56:52
From a couple of years ago, but there were changes that were implemented earlier this year that I am more concerned about, and really building off the comments that council members Ariola and Brandon had both made with regard to the frequency of evening routes, and so that the ferry is dependable for the people who need it.
1:57:08
And bus service shuttle bus service to get people to and from the ferry.
1:57:14
The evening routes that we've seen reduced on the East River ferry route make it harder for commuters coming home, especially some of the late night trips.
1:57:22
We really struggled during the g train shutdown when EDC resisted, refused to add additional ferry service to help make up for the lack of g train access in our community.
1:57:31
And secondly, the loss of the bus on 34th Street has been a challenge for some of the people who rely on the ferry commuting into Manhattan.
1:57:40
So just wanted to ask, are you reconsidering any of the reductions in evening services and the elimination of the 34th Street bus route?
1:57:49
Is that something that you'd consider bringing back to help maintain the vibrancy and high utilization of the ferry system from constituent certainly in the 33rd and across the city.
James Wong
1:58:01
So as we're thinking about service planning, there are, of course, the kind of trade offs that you're talking about.
1:58:08
And so when we did end service a little earlier, we also added more service particularly this summer.
1:58:15
We had the most number of vessels on the East River route operating at any given time.
1:58:19
So that's more than we've ever had in the past.
1:58:21
I believe was about every 20 to 22 minutes, something like that, which is as fast as we've ever put service out on the East River.
1:58:27
So where we see the need and the demand for capacity, that's where we really center the most of our energy to make sure that we are accommodating as many people as possible given the finite resources that, you know, we that we have.