Submitted by Roxanne Warren, May 16, 2008 11:05

What is needed to encourage the use of ferries, and to make them more affordable to operate (and thus to keep their fares low enough to encourage ridership) is to greatly improve access to them. It used to be that a vast network of streetcars was interconnected with ferries, and it makes perfect sense to revive this in our harbor city, particularly as the cost of gasoline goes through the roof, and as our subway lines become increasingly crowded. One of the things that makes ferry operations so expensive is that their owners spend 50% of their operating costs on bussing passengers around Manhattan. The vision42 proposal for river-to-river light rail in a landscaped, auto-free 42nd Street could be a pilot project for a whole new network of light rail (or streetcars), which would reach the rivers (as the subways cannot do). This could be combined, where appropriate, with landscaped, pedestrian-only streets.

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