Resolution to Select NY Waterway for Services at City-owned Ferry Terminal
JERSEY CITY, NJ – Mayor Steven M. Fulop joins Councilwoman Denise Ridley and the Department
of Infrastructure to announce a resolution awarding a contract for services out of the Port Liberte Ferry
Terminal, which the City of Jersey City recently acquired to restore the only ferry service outside of
downtown, promote ridership, and ensure residents in low- and moderate-income communities have
greater access to affordable and efficient transportation options.
Following a thorough RFP process, the resolution selects the NY Waterway to provide ferry services five
days a week at the Port Liberte Ferry Terminal on Jersey City’s southernmost coast in Greenville.
Additionally, utilizing $4 million in State grant funding, ferry fares to and from the Port Liberte terminal
will be discounted by nearly 40% from previous levels to $8.00 each way.
The resolution will be introduced at the next City Council meeting on May 24, 2023.
“We acquired the ferry terminal to have an active role in subsidizing rates and providing greater and more
equitable access to critical transportation services that our residents from Greenville to Bergen-Lafayette
need,” said Mayor Fulop. “We are exceeding our goals in closing transportation gaps and expanding our
transit infrastructure through Via Jersey City, which we launched in 2020. The Port Liberte Ferry
Terminal was previously an underutilized asset. With this resolution, we will make the most of our
existing resources and connect residents to the terminal who may not otherwise have access to ferry
services.”
The City will provide enhanced transit service from the Greenville community to the Ferry Terminal
through the City’s on-demand microtransit service, in partnership with Via, and expanded Citi Bike
stations in the Greenville neighborhood. These services will provide enhanced transit connections for
Jersey City residents with a focus on areas with limited access to public transit.
“Our goal is to increase ridership and ensure a robust service that residents throughout the City can rely
on. We are doing that here by leveraging the City’s existing microtransit systems, which have proven to
be successful in connecting residents to essential destinations such as major transit hubs, jobs, schools,
medical services, and civic institutions,” said Barkha Patel, Director of Jersey City’s Department of
Infrastructure. “With this latest expansion, we are advancing the City’s goals of providing sustainable,
smart, and efficient transportation infrastructure for our community.”
“The ferry terminal was historically limited to residents of Port Liberte due to its relatively isolated
location. However, our efforts today will open the doors to additional opportunities for residents,
especially in our lower-income areas. This is the type of outside-the-box thinking that is changing the
way municipalities approach long-standing systemic issues and social equity overall,” added Ward A
Councilwoman Denise Ridley.
NY Waterway had previously operated out of the Port Liberte Ferry Terminal until service was suspended
in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to resume. In 2022, Mayor Fulop proposed
the acquisition to provide residents of the Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette neighborhoods with another
public transit option to New York City. The ordinance to acquire the terminal for $1.00 was passed by
the City Council last June.
Pending approval of the contractual agreement by the Municipal Council, ferry service is expected to
resume this summer.
“NY Waterway is delighted to be provisionally selected as the new operator for commuter ferry service
out of Port Liberte,” said Armand Pohan, NY Waterway’s President and CEO. “We submitted a
highly competitive service proposal and are thrilled that we are getting the opportunity to fulfill it. We
look forward to finalizing our agreement with Jersey City and launching this new service as soon as
possible.”
Ferry services at the Port Liberte Ferry
Terminal began operation in April 2003,
providing residents with a 17-minute
direct trip to Pier 11 in Manhattan. The
average annual ridership for the route
was approximately 83,000. The one-way
fare rate for adult riders in 2020 was
$13.00.
When ferry service stopped in 2020,
Jersey City launched an on-demand
microtransit service in partnership with
Via to provide a more affordable
transportation option that closes transit
gaps. Since the launch, Via’s data show
the City’s low-income and minority populations have benefited the most. Via currently completes
approximately 13,000 trips per week. The Via service has successfully provided trips to residents in the
Greenville neighborhood, with the Journal Square transportation hub being the most popular destination
for commuters to take the PATH train across the Hudson River.
