ST. GEORGE — Staten Island Ferry riders will no longer have to wait an hour for a boat to take them home after a late weekend night in Manhattan.
On Friday, the ferry boats will start to run every half-hour overnights on the weekend instead of the previous schedule of every hour, Borough President James Oddo announced.
"Increased ferry service will better connect Staten Island to the rest of the city, improving our economy and making Staten Island a more desirable place to live and work," Oddo said in a statement.
With the new schedule, ferry boats will make an additional 26 trips from Friday starting at 7 p.m. until Sunday at 2:00 a.m., Oddo said.
Friday's increase in service is the first phase of a bill approved by the City Council in October which requires the boats to sail every half-hour all-day, instead of switching to hourly service early in the morning on weekdays and at night on weekends.
The second phase, which will make boats run every 30 minutes early on weekdays, is slated to start next year, Oddo said.
The new schedule was funded by Mayor Bill de Blasio in the city's budget and put into place after the Department of Transportation increased staffing on weekends for the extra trips.
"We look forward to Staten Islanders enjoying the expanded ferry service which begins next weekend,” DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement.
“The Staten Island Ferry remains a safe and efficient mode of travel for over 65,000 passengers each day.
To mark the new schedule, Oddo has invited the public to join him on a celebratory ferry ride on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
