After the summer season, the endless queues and the usual delays, city officials decided to spend several million to order ferries with increased capacity to service the NYC Ferry.
Economic development Corporation of the city is in the process of negotiations with Hornblower, operators NYC Ferry to next year to put into operation three new boats, which can accommodate 350 passengers. The current ships used the ferry service that can carry two times less passengers.
Officials say that once the services of ferries 1 may have used more than 2 million residents, the service is very popular, and it should be encouraged by empowering the ferry service, thereby facilitating the lives of passengers. The new court will allow citizens to move faster on the city, reducing the waiting time in queues.
The city authorities signed contracts with two shipyards — Horizon Shipbuilding Inc. in Alabama, and Metal Shark in Louisiana that work on the construction of about 20 ferries. If the negotiations go as planned, Metal Shark will construct three vessels. According to economic development Corporation, each ferry will cost the city between 7 to 7.5 million dollars. In operation, to be commissioned in 2018.
By this time it is planned to launch two new routes to the Bronx and the Lower East side. Press-Secretary of the economic development Corporation stated that three vessels will ply on all routes.
Earlier this year, mayor bill de Blasio acknowledged that low bandwidth is one of the problems of urban ferry service. Boat for 150 passengers unable to cope with the influx, with the result that very often the passengers had to wait at the station the arrival of the next ferry. This was particularly noticeable in summer, when the townspeople actively visited Rockaway Beach and Governors Island. To cope with the arisen difficulties, Hornblower adjusted the graphics adding to the trails two or three big boats every day.
