01363049

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2274-20

http://scholar.google.com...tero&publication_year=2012

Transit is closely associated with public-sector involvement, including capital costs and significant subsidies of operating costs. The rationale for this involvement is justified on several grounds, including the presence of economies of scale in provision of transit service and the presence of external benefits associated with transit. In a recent study Parry and Small demonstrated that these two effects provide justification for existing subsidy levels for transit service in several cities. In the world of public transit, passenger ferry service in the New York City region is unusual: with the exception of the subsidized and publicly run Staten Island Ferry, the regional ferry system is run primarily with operating costs covered by farebox revenues. Can the arguments for public subsidies for transit extend to this system of private passenger ferries? Would economies of scale and external benefits justify an expanded and subsidized ferry system in the New York City region? These issues are explored by defining the public interest in the context of the system, discussing whether this public interest would justify a structural change in the way passenger ferries are funded in the region, and providing a timely case study, the East River Ferry service started in June 2011. This subsidized service, a ridership success, has capitalized on growing densities along the East River between Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, New York.

01449088

12-4197

English

pp 184–191

2012

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309223171

Print

Figures; Maps; References; Tables

Case studies; Ferry service; Financing; Government funding; Operating subsidies; Public policy

East River (New York); New York (New York)

Finance; Marine Transportation; Policy; Public Transportation; I10: Economics and Administration; I70: Traffic and Transport

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 8 2012 5:22PM

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• New York City’s East River Ferry: Expanding Passenger Ferry Service and Stimulating Economic Development in the New York City Region
• Passenger Transmission and Productiveness of Transit Lines with High Loads
• Public Transportation Today and Tomorrow
• Quantifying Reliability of Transit Service in Zurich, Switzerland: Case Study of Bus Line 31
• Simulating the Travel Time Impact of Missed Transit Connections
• Steps to Leading Change: A Transportation Agency’s Business Plan Approach
• Strategic Look at Friday Exceptions in Weekday Schedules for Urban Transit: Improving Service, Capturing Leisure Markets, and Achieving Cost Savings by Mining Data on Automated Fare Collection Ridership