NYC Ferry fare will increase to $5 this month
Credit: Sam Jotham Sutharson on Unsplash
The price to ride NYC Ferry will go up later this month. The city’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) on Monday announced the fare hike, which takes effect October 19, increasing the base one-way fare from $4.50 to $5 and the 10-trip pass from $29 to $30. The reduced one-way fare will increase from $1.45 to $1.50, while the two-day unlimited ticket will become a permanent fare product, maintaining its $15 price.
The updated fare model puts the largest increase on the base fare most commonly used by occasional riders, while limiting increases for frequent riders and Ferry Discount Program participants.
The changes are intended to help offset inflation-related increases in operating costs while supporting continued ridership growth. NYC Ferry has seen record demand in recent years, reaching its highest daily and weekly ridership levels this summer.
According to NYCEDC, the fare adjustment continues the agency’s “regular, measured fare reviews” designed to balance affordability, ridership growth, and the system’s financial sustainability.
Alongside the fare hike, NYCEDC also announced expanded eligibility for discounted ferry tickets for middle school students citywide. Starting October 19, students in grades 6 through 8 will be eligible for discounted weekday ferry trips to and from school, joining high school students who already qualify for the program.
Middle and high school students can access discount codes through their NYC Schools Accounts and use them to purchase discounted student ferry tickets.
“NYC Ferry is seeing unprecedented demand, again setting ridership records over the course of this year as more New Yorkers choose the ferry as part of their daily travel,” NYC Ferry Executive Director James Wong said.
“By minimizing impacts on frequent riders and expanding access to middle school students, we are continuing to grow a ferry system that is accessible, reliable, and responsive to riders’ needs.”
The fare increase marks the first change since July 2024, when the price of a single-trip ticket increased from $4 to $4.50 and the 10-trip pass increased from $27.50 to $29. In 2022, the city increased the fare from $2.75 to $4 to address the system’s huge per-rider public subsidy, which has been lowered to $8.33 as of last year.
That’s a 36 percent drop from the subsidy’s peak in 2020 according to NYC Ferry, which says it’s the “most financially efficient publicly funded passenger ferry system in the country.” The subsidy per passenger for the Staten Island Ferry, for example, was $12.01 in 2025.
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