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Port Liberte commuters will get a $1.30 discount per trip when the NY Waterway resumes ferry service at the development Aug. 1, company officials announced Tuesday.
The per-trip price, $11.70 for Port Liberte residents and $13 for everyone else, is the reason Jersey City has proposed purchasing the ferry terminal building there, councilwomen Mira Prinz-Arey and Denise Ridley said.
“I think the press release by NY Waterway speaks to exactly the reason we are looking to acquire the ferry terminal, it puts the city and its residents at the head of these transportation discussions,” said Ridley, who represents the Greenville neighborhood.
“It is the city’s intention for this ferry terminal to serve all Jersey City residents. I believe NY Waterway would attract more riders by evening the scale.”
NY Waterway announced the reopening less than a week after the Jersey City City Council introduced an ordinance to take over the ferry terminal from the developer Ironstate for $1. The ferry service at Port Liberte, which runs to Wall Street and the Manhattan financial district, has been suspended since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.
The NY Waterway announcement “is a total slap in the face,” Prinz-Arey said, since the city council ordinance calls for the city “take an active role in subsidizing rates, increasing ridership, and significantly expanding access to the terminal for residents in the Greenville and West Side neighborhoods by leveraging the highly successful Via Jersey City.”
The ordinance was introduced at the June 15 meeting and is expected to be approved at next week’s meeting.
NY Waterway spokesman Wiley Norvell confirmed the pricing schedule is not related to the Jersey City ordinance. The $13 charge is the highest among the company’s Hudson County routes, matching Port Imperial in Weehawken.
“We’re excited to be back at Port Liberte,” Norvell said. “The prices reflect the costs of operating the ferry route, which is one of the longest in the NY Waterway system. We continue to work with the mayor and local council members on ways to lower commuting costs and increase options across the city.”
The cost of the ferry out of Paulus Hook runs between $7 and $9, depending on the destination.
Mira Prinz-Arey, who represents the West Side, distanced the city from the NY Waterway announcement.
“This is why we as a city are starting to walk down this path,” she said. “… This is a multi-phase project. The first project is going into the lease agreement. and the next phase is looking at other possible service providers. What (NY Waterway) is doing now is fine, it’s a nice gesture, but it has nothing to do with the city’s larger plan.”
The ferries will offer direct service from the Port Liberte development to Paulus Hook and Wall Street, with connecting service to World Financial Center and Midtown.
Norvell said the service will be provided on a trial basis between August and October, and will assess future service based on ridership.
Wiley said the Port Liberte residents are being offered the 10% discount because it funded much of the construction of the facility, through the homeowners association. A 10-trip pass is $108 for Port Liberte commuters and $120 for non-Port Liberte residents.
Ferries will depart from Port Liberte between 6:05am and 9:05am, making stops at Paulus Hook and Pier 11. Returning ferries in the afternoon will depart Pier 11 between 4:15pm and 7:15pm, bound for Port Liberte.
For full Port Liberte ferry schedules and fares, nywaterway.com/PortLiberte
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