ed, "no matter why or what you'll do tomorrow." In
November 2003, the company called-in critics for a
closed demo of the new tracking system, the outcome of
which is uncertain. The course at Waterway took a new
heading, as the company announced it could no longer
continue key routes between New Jersey and Manhattan.
The Bubble
Some ferry executives describe "five years' growth" in
the two years following 9/11, but eventually the damaged
cross-Hudson subways were back in service. Five years
of growth found only three years of market, after the sub-
way riders receded from the charming but indirect water-
borne route to their connections. It's the old story about
wartime expansion.
Whether that growth was sustainable or not, it set other
things in motion. Ferry operators in New York today
bank on the forced discovery, by commuters who would-
n't have chosen the ride otherwise, of what a pleasant
commute the ferry can be. Not everyone has inland con-
nections - plenty of people can walk to work from the
waterfront.
As we went to press, the Jersey Journal, under the
headline "Ferry Saved!," announced a new contender,
BillyBey Ferry Company LLC. The firm had reached
tentative agreements with the Port Authority to acquire
Waterway's Hoboken and Jersey City routes. New York
Waterway would continue its Weehawken and Belford
N.J. routes, along with its run up the river at Haverstraw.
New York Waterway also would provide personnel and
continue to manage and operate the Hoboken and Jersey
City runs for BillyBey. A fee charged by the Port Author-
ity - "one of the factors that put NY Waterway's busy
Hoboken routes in the red, officials said" according to
the Journal - would approximately be halved for the same
March, 2005 • MarineNews 29
Water Taxi
Circle 203 on Reader Service Card
Circle 221 on Reader Service Card
Full circle for Tom Fox. Starting out as an Urban Ranger, he finds himself 30
years later off Fort Wadsworth, on his own New York Water Taxi for its inau-
gural presentation of the National Parks tour last October. (Photo: Don
Sutherland.)
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