The Staten Island Ferry is consisted of two terminals, the one on Staten Island itself and one in the downtown area of Manhattan. The one on Staten Island is named the Saint George Ferry Terminal and is located on 1 Bay Street 10301. The other terminal is called White Hall Terminal and is located at 4 Whitehall Street 10004 New York, New York. 

The Ferry runs every day, 24 hours a day and on average brings 66,000 people aboard daily. It helps connect passengers from Manhattan to Staten Island, and vice verse. Yearly it serves about 21 million passengers, 1.5 million being tourists. The 5.2 mile trip generally takes 25 minutes to travel and the ferry generally runs every half an hour, although on week days you man be able to take the express ferry which comes every fifteen minutes from 6-9am and 5-7pm. 

The Staten Island Ferry Terminals was originally used as a passage to transport cargo from Staten Island to Manhattan and was operated by private individuals. In the 19th century former New York governor and vice president of the Richard Turnpike Company, David D. Tompkins, had received a grant to originally build a highway across Staten Island, but instead allowed for the Staten Island Ferry to come to be. Soon enough, in 1817 Tompkins began to run the first motorized steam boat, named the Nautilus, across the ferry route. The Nautilus was captained by John De Forest who was the brother in law of the famous Cornelius Vanderbilt, the founder of Vanderbilt University and one of the richest men in the world at the time due to his steamboat and railroad business founded in New York. 

When the terminals just began to allow public use, the fee to ride the ferry was five cents in 1948. As years progressed, the fee increased. For instance, in 1975 it increased to twenty five cents and increased again to fifty cents in 1990. The last increase in 1990 created an uproar within Staten Island residents and in 1997 the fee subsequently was abolished and now there is no fee to pay to ride the ferry, it is completely free.  

The Saint George Terminal was built in the 19th century but began passenger trips in 1906. It has been reported that it used to be quite a disgusting area with garbage every where but was soon transformed into an open and friendly environment. The renovated clean terminal has a range of shops and restaurants with large windows for a bright atmosphere which passengers can now enjoy. Similarly, in the Whitehall Station terminal, it was also a drab and dreary place up until 2005 when there was a major renovation where the entire terminal was rebuilt from the ground up. Now there are also new commodities such as restaurants, a bar, and convenient stores which is open for the public to enjoy.

The Staten Island Ferry is a vital mode of public transportation especially when connecting two very bustling cities. Many Staten Islanders rely on it to get to their jobs every single day as well as all of the other passengers. Thankfully Tom Crimmins Realty is located here, right on Staten Island to help you find your dream home or apartment with convenient transportation such as the ferry.

Posted by Tom Crimmins Realty on

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