NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- About 19 months since the pandemic forced schedule changes, the Staten Island Ferry will finally return to full service next week.
The free ferry will return to 24/7 30-minute service around the clock Monday. Since March 2020, service has been scaled back.
“The Staten Island Ferry knits this city together, and the return of 24/7 half-hour service is a sure sign that a recovery for all of us is underway,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The Department of Transportation announced plans for a full return back in June, and says it has been training new personnel to take on the workload.
Before the pandemic, the ferry moved 70,000 passengers on weekdays and 22 million people a year, according to the mayor’s office.
The first restored trips will happen at 11:30 p.m. Sunday from Staten Island’s St. George Ferry Terminal and Manhattan’s Whitehall Terminal. The new schedule means a total of 14 trips are being restored.
Elected officials applauded the return of full service and its importance to workers going to and from Staten Island at off hours.
“Staten Island lived up to its responsibility during the economic difficulties brought upon by Covid and we accepted the reduction in service,” said Staten Island Borough President James Oddo. “But as the mayor has made clear, we are in a ‘recovery for all' and that means helping all those essential workers and Staten Islanders who work outside of the typical 9-5 schedule.”
Also new to the ferry service is its next ship, which the DOT says is coming up from Florida this weekend. It won't begin passenger use until later this year.