Hoboken commuters go to ferry.jpeg

NJ Transit commuters in Hoboken walk to ferry slips to take NY Waterway ferries to Manhattan last week after a derailment curtailed train service. An emergency ferry route to midtown will be made permanent. (Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ,com)

Last week, in the midst of the commuter chaos caused by the train derailment at Penn Station, NY Waterway set up an extra ferry route from Hoboken to mid-town Manhattan.

That service will now become a permanent later this year, NY Waterway officials said.

The new ferry service will run the same route between West 39

th

Street and Hoboken terminal, starting in September, said Arthur Imperatore Sr. NY Waterway president and founder.

That ferry service was launched as an emergency route during the height of last week's commuting crisis caused by a derailment in Penn Station New York on April and four days of reduced rail service while track damage was repaired.

Trying the new 39th st ferry. So far beats the hell out of PATH. #commuterproblems #NJTransit pic.twitter.com/cL7y3YO7qd — Sandy Buckley (@SBuckleyTV) April 5, 2017

The emergency ferry route was a response to commuter complaints about overcrowding, especially to get to PATH trains at Hoboken Terminal.

That station, which already has several tracks out-of-service after a Sept. 29 train crash, was inundated by commuters from the MidTown direct trains that were displaced from New York Penn Station while Amtrak repaired track switches which left 8 of the station's 21 track unusable.

After the derailment, PATH ridership surged by more than 60,000 riders a day since the April 3 which was a nearly 20-percent increase, officials said. PATH added 94 extra trains, staff and Port Authority police to help move passengers.

Emergency ferry service was implemented on April 5 and ended it by Friday when rail service was restored.

That route transported about 4,031 people in two days, said Pat Smith, an NY Waterway spokesman.

"That's good for an emergency start up with no (prior) notice," he said.

@NJTRANSIT @ridetheferry ya'll need to work something out and make that Hoboken terminal to midtown ferry permanent. It's worth some extra $ — Big T (@BIGT_007) April 5, 2017

The emergency ferry route also got favorable reviews by commuters on social media



'"We have been considering for some time the need for this Hoboken to Midtown route," Imperatore said. "The success of this trial by fire proved that the time to act is now."

Details of the route still are being worked out and will be announced this summer, he said. Last week's service was limited to NJ Transit rail ticket-holders, but the new route will be open to all passengers, officials said.

Currently, NY Waterway runs ferry routes between Hoboken Terminal and downtown Manhattan and Wall Street.

The ferry was an alternative that commuters used to avoid reduced rail service, crowding on PATH and buses and added cars on highways and Hudson River crossings. Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft also reported increases in trips to and from major NJ Transit terminals last week.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

