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| Re: Staten Island Transit (855006) | |||
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Re: Staten Island Transit |
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Posted by Michael549 on Tue Nov 10 13:29:58 2009, in response to Re: Staten Island Transit, posted by (SIR) North Shore Line on Tue Nov 10 10:32:57 2009. From a previous message: "For all the money that would cost, DOT could simply bring back the pre-1970s schedules with a boat every 20 minutes during the day & 30 minutes at night."Here's where it gets interesting, the arguments among the bean-counters, media-type folk, and the public. One of the arguments about ferry service is the fact that ridership declines at certain times and increases at other times. Add in the fact that manpower and equipment costs can be heavy, and that whatever boats are purchased, the boats are expected to last 30-40 years apiece. When the DOT proposes larger boats to carry more people, the argument then goes that a less frequent schedule is needed, the larger boat does the work of two smaller boats. That was the thinking behind the Barberi class boats, and carrying 6,000 riders. At the times when there is less ridership, the Austen boats with 1,200 riders are supposed to be used. However we all have to admit that there are times when only about 300 people or so are riding the 2am or 3am boats. The bean counters and media-driven types would then charge that the "boats are empty", it is a "waste of resources" to carry so few riders. As a solution they propose less service - the hourly schedules, etc. By having less frequent schedules, the ferry becomes less attractive to those who want to travel, and those folk travel by car. Thus more folk become not concerned with the support of the ferry - leading over time to less service. The riding public however would prefer more frequent service, time is a limited resource to most people. Add in the fact that most policy makers do not mind making other people operate under a system that they themselves do not have to operate by. Who really wants to spend Saturday and Sunday evenings waiting an hour for the ferry, even though the terminal is packed with people? With all of that in mind - getting the current policy makers to restore day-time 20 minute schedules, and night-time and midnight hour 30-minute schedules is not likely to happen. A few years ago, the NYC City Council did indeed vote in a ferry schedule where 24-7-365 the longest a person would have to wait for a ferry was 30 minutes. The vote was approved by the entire city council - 100%. Mayor Bloomberg vetoed it, saying that the City Council was "micro-managing the DOT". A few weekend morning ferry runs, and an extra 1am boat leaving Manhattan was added to the schedule - was the result. Mike |
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