The Staten Island Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry will eventually run every half hour around the clock, with more overnight boats coming next month.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

CITY HALL -- The Staten Island Ferry will eventually run every half hour around the clock, with more overnight boats coming next month.

The city announced on Wednesday a commitment to nonstop half-hour ferry service after studying the feasibility of adding even more more trips following last year's expansion.

"We're committed to bringing better transit and opportunity to parts of the city that have long gone underserved," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement on Wednesday. "The Staten Island Ferry is the lifeline for an entire borough."

Six round trips will be added starting next month, including one each on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights as well as three on Sunday morning.

The de Blasio administration said full 30-minute service will be included in the executive budget, which must be submitted to the City Council by April 26.

New trips

The Staten Island Ferry will run an additional 12 trips starting May 1.

-- From St. George Terminal:

Saturdays at 2:30 a.m.

Sundays at 2:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Mondays at 12:30 a.m.

-- From Whitehall Terminal:

Saturdays at 3 a.m.

Sundays at 3 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Mondays at 1 a.m.

"Setting a 30-minute standard for service will help Staten Islanders work, grow businesses on the island, and bring us closer to a day when every New Yorker has access to frequent, reliable public transit," de Blasio said.

The new boats will approximately cost an additional $700,000 a year. How much the city will need to budget every year to fully implement 30-minute service is still unclear.

The total cost will be dependent on what type of boats are used for the additional trips and this will be determined over the next month or so. Officials will look at whether overnight hours can be done with smaller vessels that are cheaper to run.

The effect on ridership -- as well as the cost increase per rider -- is difficult to predict because increasing service may create new travel patterns.

Hour waits

After the new trips are added May 1, there will still be a few hour-long waits for the ferry. The city has committed to eventually implementing full 30-minute service.

-- Ferries from St. George Terminal will run by the hour on weekdays from 1 to 5 a.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 3 to 6 a.m. after May 1. A new trip was added on Mondays at 12:30 a.m. that did not previously run.

-- Ferries from Whitehall Terminal will run by the hour on weekdays from 1:30 to 5:30 a.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 3:30 to 6:30 a.m. after May 1. A new trip was added on Mondays at 1 a.m. that did not previously run.

"We will be working expeditiously in the coming months to finalize the best option for the full 30-minute overnight service for ferry riders," Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement.

Boats depart from St. George and Whitehall Terminals every half-hour during most of the day already, with more frequent service during the morning and evening rush. But there are still pockets of 60-minute wait times overnight, which is a pain for Islanders who work off-peak hours or go out in the city.

Local elected officials have argued that increasing Staten Island Ferry service was not only economically feasible but a necessity given the borough's lack of transportation options, population growth and upcoming development projects on the North Shore and beyond.

Borough President James Oddo said in a statement said the commitment to half-hour ferry service "speaks to the relationship the de Blasio Administration has with the people of Staten Island."

"The Mayor and Administration asked me to be patient during this process," Oddo said. "Patience is not my strong suit. But, this decision underscores what I believe to be the core of the matter -- that Mayor de Blasio and I absolutely can collectively do right by this borough and city and help improve people's lives."

Council members Debi Rose (D-North Shore), Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island) and Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) thanked de Blasio in a joint statement for taking a step toward "providing transportation equity" for the borough.

"For Staten Islanders, who seem to spend half of their lives plotting the timing of their trains or buses to meet up with a boat to take them to work and home again, especially those who work late hours or weekends, this service increase will be a game changer," the Council delegation said in a statement. "And for the business community, which stands to profit from the boost in tourism, it will be provide a financial boon and hopefully continue to spur the renaissance of the North Shore."

The fate of 30-minute ferry service was uncertain until Wednesday, the deadline for the city to complete a feasibility study as part of a little-known step toward increasing service.

The expansion was mandated by a 2013 law championed by then-Councilman Oddo. That bill was similar to another spearheaded by former Councilman Michael McMahon that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed in 2005. Though the City Council overrode the veto, financial woes and legal threats from Bloomberg resulted in a compromise to add more trips during rush hour and another boat late at night.

During negotiations with the Bloomberg administration over the 2013 legislation, a stipulation was added allowing his successor to consult with city to determine full expansion was economically feasible.