Amidst rumors that a $2 surcharge could be added next week to the cost of a ticket for the East River Ferry, NY
Waterway denied the price hike, saying the fare structure has not changed.
Several riders reported hearing from ferry workers that, come Monday, the price for a single ticket purchased on board would jump from $4 to $6.
“A worker was handing out information a couple days ago about a new app, saying ticket prices were going to go up on Monday, but if we used the app, we could avoid the increase,” one passenger told Metro.
Damiano DeMonte of Sunshine Sachs, the PR firm that represents NY Waterway, said there will be no new fee, but there has always been a service charge for passengers who buy tickets on board using a credit card.
“Any announcements made were to inform passengers that they may avoid that charge by utilizing the new app to buy their ticket. All they have to do then is present their mobile device which acts as a boarding pass,” DeMonte said in an email.
There seemed to be some confusion over the matter, however, after the administrator of the East River Ferry’s Facebook page posted a comment about a new surcharge in response to a customer’s inquiry this morning, but later deleted it.
“The ticket prices ON BOARD the boat will result in a $2 surcharge. Tickets bought prior to boarding the vessel (i.e. at a ticket vending machine) will not have this surcharge, so those prices will remain as is,” read the comment.
Within an hour, it was deleted and replaced with another comment by East River Ferry: “Correction in our last post. There is no change pricing at this time.“
DeMonte echoed the point.
“There are no changes to the fare structure at this time,” he said.
Officials would not confirm whether the possibility of adding the surcharge in the future is being discussed.
The East River Ferry connects piers in Manhattan to Long Island City in Queens, Governor’s Island and areas in Brooklyn, including Williamsburg and DUMBO. It has transported 600,000 passengers since it launched in June, according to an article posted on its website.
