Ferry Service To Expand To Astoria As Network Marks 1M Passengers

NEW YORK CITY, NY - Ferry service between Astoria and Wall Street will be launched next month. The announcement came as the citywide network welcomed its 1 millionth rider.

The new line will set sail on Aug. 29, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said in a statement on Wednesday. The route will include stops on Roosevelt Island and East 34th Street.

The city’s ferry system, known as NYC Ferry, took to the water on May 1 with two separate routes connecting the Rockaways and South Brooklyn to Downtown Manhattan.

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“We knew NYC Ferry would be popular, but a million riders in less than three months is beyond our wildest expectations,” James Patchett, head of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, said in a statement.

New ferry lines are planned for the Lower East Side and the Bronx next year.

Celebrating the 1 million rider mark, the city said there have been “more than 625,000 riders on the East River route, 221,000 on the Rockaway line and 154,000 on the South Brooklyn route. Weekday ridership across the three routes ranges from 8,000 to 12,000 riders.

Tickets cost $2.75 per trip. It costs $1 extra to bring a bike aboard.

Photo via mayor's office.