South Amboy ferry service to NYC started on Monday, October 30

Monday was the inaugural day for the revived South Amboy-NYC ferry service, provided by NY Waterway. Customer traffic was light, and the service seemed quickly thrown together: The parking lot at 100 Radford Ferry Road in South Amboy is not paved; it is a mixture of gravel and dirt.

Also, there is no ferry terminal; NY Waterway set up a mobile trailer, with a port-a-potty.

But the most important things functioned exactly as they should: The ferry boats departed and arrived on schedule. It was a speedy, non-stop ride (under 50 minutes) to Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan.

The ferry is expected to service over 1,000 daily riders during each weekday. There is no weekend service. The ferry will provide direct service from South Amboy to two stops in Manhattan, the Financial District and Midtown.

•Ferries depart South Amboy beginning 5:45 AM, with the last morning ferry arriving in Midtown at 9:50 AM, Monday through Friday.

•Evening ferries start departing NYC at 3:15 PM and conclude at South Amboy at 7:25 PM.

•Free transfers are available for South Amboy ferry riders to all other NY Waterway ferry terminals (in Manhattan, Weehawken, Edgewater, Jersey City, and Hoboken).

•Free local shuttles run between Sayreville and South Amboy and the ferry landing at 100 Radford Ferry Road in South Amboy.

There is a parking lot right next to the ferry dock, and parking is free. NY Waterway provides free shuttles from the South Amboy train station to get people to the ferry; they also provided free shuttles once the ferry docks in Midtown.

Ferries will go to both Downtown (Brookfield Place) and Midtown (West 39th Street). Right now, service will not run on weekends; it will be weekdays, Monday-Friday only. Service will run during the morning and evening commute hours, according to NY Waterway.

Starting October 30, the first ferry leaves at 5:45 a.m., and then every hour: 6:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. Fares are one-way adult: $18, one- way senior: $17, 10-trip: $165, 40-trip: $600 and monthly $588. For comparison, a 40-trip ticket from Belford to NYC by Seastreak is $720.