Ms. Warnock, 57, was quick to abandon her daily ride on the N/W subway line for the comforts of the ferry, which lands several blocks from her home in Astoria.

“Oh my gosh, this is a perfect commute,” she said, waxing on about the sights along the water. “It’s really improved my quality of life.”

For Alexandra Stathis, who lives near the river in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the ferry provides a respite from the “crowded and stressful” subway, in one direction at least.

Ms. Stathis, 28, said she and her boyfriend ride the ferry to East 34th Street in Manhattan every morning. From there, she usually hops on a free NYC Ferry shuttle bus to get to her office. But in the evenings, she said, she usually rides the subway home.

In comparison to the subway, she said, the ferry has been “extremely pleasant” and punctual.

That sort of reaction reflects what Ms. Glen, the deputy mayor, calls the “happiness factor” the ferries have produced. “We have qualitatively changed people’s transit experiences,” she said.

But she admitted that there was one review of the ferry service that was especially satisfying. She recounted receiving a note from her father in which he said: “I’m on a boat back from Rockaway with a Brooklyn lager in my hand. My life is complete. I’m so glad I had you.”