NY Waterway: Will you take a bus to the ferry?

NY Waterway is floating the idea of a bus service to and from the Middletown ferry terminal that would pick up customers from as far south as Spring Lake.

The ferry operator began to collect opinions from customers Wednesday morning "to see if there is a demand for this," according to spokesman Pat Smith.

The concept emerges as NY Waterway prepares to add to its fleet a new 400-passenger ship to service the route from the Belford Terminal in Middletown to Manhattan.

The survey describes the bus service as:

•Weekday mornings — and evening return trips — only.

•Passengers would be picked up from eight NJ Transit stations — Spring Lake, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Elberon, Long Branch, Little Silver, Red Bank and Middletown.

•Bus travel time to the terminal from Spring Lake, and vice versa, would be 60 minutes.

•Buses would travel primarily on New Jersey 71, New Jersey 35 and New Jersey 36.

•The bus ride would cost $3.50 each way, in addition to the cost to ride the ferry.

About 2,100 passengers depart from the Belford Terminal every day, according to Smith.

With the coming addition of the Molly Pitcher, a 109-foot-long ferry that can go 33 miles per hour, NY Waterway will have more capacity to serve commuters and New York City day-trippers.

The Molly Pitcher is currently under construction at Yank Marine in Tuckahoe, but it will be in service "soon," according to a news release from NY Waterway. The vessel is named after Revolutionary War figure Molly Hayes, who became known as Molly Pitcher after running water to gunners during the Battle of Monmouth.

A second, identical ferry will begin service in summer, according to the news release.

NY Waterway is pitching the new ships' amenities, including WiFi and flat-screen televisions, as reasons for commuters to eschew their competitors — NJ Transit and Seastreak, among them.

Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@GannettNJ.com