A Ferry Can Now Take You From Midtown to Red Hook for $9

A New York Water Taxi at Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan, New York, on Aug. 21, 2013. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)

Steve Tarpin, owner of Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, on April 2. (Allen Xie/Epoch Times)

Expanding Service

The $9 one-way tickets are in addition to the $5 IKEA shuttles that run now. The express shuttles run from Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan directly to the IKEA store in Red Hook, and are free on weekends. IKEA also offers refunds for the tickets with purchases over $10.

Service to Red Hook has been popular. Over 100,000 riders took the ferry the first summer in 2013, so the city extended service for four more weeks. NYWT, East River Ferry, Fairway Markets, and IKEA had sponsored the ferries along with the city.

This summer ridership was even higher, according to NYWT press releases. Service continued without city subsidies and ferries ran directly to Fairway and IKEA stores. The success prompted NYWT to continue the service.

In the winter, McCabe said he expects most riders to be Red Hook residents commuting to Manhattan. Come next summer, he expects the reverse, with New Yorkers from other parts of the city, and visitors coming into Red Hook to visit the local businesses.