NJ Transit gets $6M for improvements to ferry boats
The federal government will give NJ Transit $6 million to overhaul the power and propulsion systems of seven ferry boats that provide service between New Jersey and New York City, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday. The grant is part of a larger, $59 million effort to modernize ferry boats and terminals nationwide.
The project in New Jersey will update seven catamarans, part of the fleet of 21 boats operated by NY Waterway that provides service to 30,000 riders daily.
This is the latest in a series of collaborations between the public agency and the private ferry company in recent years. In 2014 NJ Transit handed over $2.5 million in ferry-related reimbursements from the federal government so that NY Waterway could upgrade its terminal in Weehawken and buy 10 additional buses, adding to the fleet that carries ferry passengers to destinations in Manhattan. This January NJ Transit and NY Waterway announced Hudson Go Pass, which reduces ferry fares for people who ride certain bus routes to the Weehawken terminal. And last month NJ Transit enlisted the ferry company in its contingency plans to handle additional riders in case the agency’s 4,200 train workers went on strike.
Other projects financed by the federal government include $6 million for the Delaware River and Bay Authority to replace four ferry engines. The authority’s boats carry 725,000 people a year on a 17-mile route between Cape May and Lewes, Del. In New York, the city’s transportation department will receive $6 million to replace barges and improve ramps at its ferry docks in Staten Island and City Island.
Email: maag@northjersey.com
