WILLIAMSBURG — The East River ferry had two extra passengers Monday as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn celebrated it transporting its millionth customer.
Bloomberg and Quinn greeted commuters and took in the view of the city from the top deck during a brisk 20-minute ride from Williamsburg to lower Manhattan.
“This is a great day to have hit our millionth rider,” Quinn said.
“A lot of folks were a little pessimistic about this East River Ferry when it first started," she added," but I think we’ve seen today it’s enormously successful.”
The ferry, which began operating in June 2011, connects East 34th Street in Midtown, Long Island City, Williamsburg and DUMBO, Governors Island and South Manhattan. It can transport 149 passengers at a time and costs $4.
She added that the East River Ferry’s success has opened up endless possibilities for water transportation around the city.
“My vision is really to have a five-borough, intermodal ferry system," she said. “New Yorkers are really embracing the rivers as our next great highways.”
By reaching one million passengers in just over a year, the ferry is transporting more than 2,500 passengers a day.
In comparison, the MTA's subway system is used by 5 million people every weekday.
