Staten Island Ferry

The Richmond Turnpike Company was the first to connect Staten Island and Manhattan via steamboat service in 1817. The service grew, was bought & sold, and the City of New York took it over in 1905. Over the next century, bridges, tunnels, and automobile traffic would drive all ferries out of business except one: The Staten Island Ferry, and since 1997 the route has operated free of charge to passengers public transportation route.

On September 11, 2001, a ‘makeshift armada’ comprised of 150+ various commercial vessels participated in the largest sea evacuation in recorded history. More than 500,000 people were transported from the tip of Manhattan to New Jersey, Brooklyn, Staten Island and upper Manhattan. The Staten Island Ferry itself carried approximately 50,000 to safety that day.

Today, the famed ferry remains the busiest single-line ferry in the world, providing a nice view of Lady Liberty on your journey to and from the southernmost borough of New York City.