nws ferry Staten Island Ferry

Whether or not the Staten Island Ferry will run every half hour around the clock this year is still unclear as the budget process begins.

(Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimo)

CITY HALL -- Whether the Staten Island Ferry will run every half hour around the clock this year is still unclear as the budget process begins.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary budget for fiscal year 2016 doesn't include any additional funds to fully expand ferry service to every 30 minutes.

"No, we're still studying it," de Blasio said at City Hall on Monday after presenting the preliminary budget. "That's definitely an April discussion."

Longer ferry waits

Though boats depart from terminals every 30 minutes throughout most of the day, there are still pockets of hour-long wait times overnight.

-- Ferries from St. George Terminal run by the hour on weekdays from 1 to 5 a.m., Saturdays from 2 to 6 a.m. and Sundays from 2 to 9 a.m.

-- Ferries from Whitehall Terminal run by the hour on weekdays from 1:30 to 5:30 a.m., Saturdays from 2:30 to 6:30 a.m. and Sundays from 2:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Twenty-six weekend trips were added last year during the first phase of service expansion, mandated by a 2013 law that was championed by Borough President James Oddo while he was on the City Council. Now the Department of Transportation is studying whether the city can increase half-hour service completely by the law's May 1 deadline.

The city has until April 1 to determine if service every 30 minutes is possible. The study may include an analysis of ridership numbers, a review of economic development or population changes that could affect ridership and any plans for future expansion. Should the city determine more service isn't possible, the issue would need to be re-examined every two years.

The de Blasio administration funded the first 26 additional ferry trips with $505,000 in fiscal year 2014.

The mayor's first preliminary budget -- as well as the adopted budget -- baselined $3.17 million in fiscal year 2015 for the additional service, with the same amount for the out years of the financial plan. The preliminary 2016 budget continues that pattern for more service, officials said, but the second phase of the expansion is not funded.

Oddo said that he was "confident" the 24/7, half-hour service will become a reality, noting that the process allows for "three bites at the apple -- the Preliminary, Executive and Adopted Budgets."

The City Council will hold a series of hearings on the mayor's preliminary budget and issue a response with policy recommendations, as well as expense and revenue proposals. De Blasio must then submit a proposed executive budget by April 26.

"We need a consistent, reliable mass transit option that allows Staten Islanders to travel as work and life demand," Oddo said on Monday. "I am disappointed but unbowed because I know that this issue is not close to being settled."

The Staten Island Ferry carries more than 20 million passengers on over 37,000 trips annually. After new trips were added last May, annual ridership is expected to increase by more than 68,000 passengers.

The mayor has shown an interest in increasing ferry service on Staten Island and beyond. Last week, de Blasio said the city will launch a "five-borough" fast ferry system, with landings in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Pending additional funding, Stapleton would be included in the second phase of the system.