By Chris Rotolo
MIDDLETOWN – The two-decade stay of NY Waterway ferry service in Belford has come to a close.
An announcement by the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners marked the award of Middletown’s ferry service to Seastreak, which will begin transporting passengers to the east and west sides of Manhattan Monday, Dec. 5.
Seastreak, which also operates terminals in the neighboring boroughs of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands, will offer 22 trips between Monmouth County and New York City each day, including six morning departures from Belford to Manhattan, and seven evening departures from Manhattan back to Monmouth County.
Belford passengers can expect an increase in fares. Seastreak prices its one-way ticket at $28, compared to the $21.50 charged by NY Waterway. According to a statement by Seastreak, the organization will work to ease the transition by offering “Belford-only one-way and round-trip tickets… at a discount.” These reduced one-way tickets will be available for $24.
Riders using these discounted tickets will be required to depart from and return to the Belford terminal. Passengers who acquire full-price tickets will have access to a free shuttle bus service that will provide transport among the three Bayshore terminals, allowing access to their vehicles regardless of their points of departure and return.
“Our team looks forward to working with Monmouth County to serve the County’s residents and provide the Belford commuter community with the same high level of service and commitment that the Company has provided to its riders for over three decades,” John J. Bevins, Seastreak vice president of operations, said in a media release.
The departure of NY Waterway will also bring an end to Monmouth County’s direct waterborne commuting connection to both Hoboken and Jersey City, which leaves passengers like Erin Gallagher, a Red Bank resident, with a tough decision to make.
“I actually moved back to the area from Jersey City because our offices closed, because of COVID. I ended up staying put when we started going back into the office, because this ferry route was easy access,” Gallagher told The Two RiverTimes. “With gas prices being what they are, I have to sit down and do the math to see if it would make the most sense to drive in, or find an apartment closer to the office.”
Gallagher and passengers in a similar predicament may have another option coming soon to nearby South Amboy, where NY Waterway is expected to launch a new Raritan Bay terminal in the first quarter of 2023. The terminal would provide service to New York City, and could also include the continuation of in-state routes that it lost when leaving Belford.
The Board of County Commissioners awarded the Belford terminal contract to Seastreak over the summer in a controversial decision, disqualifying the NY Waterway bid for its failure to include a “consent of surety,” a bond that validates a contractor’s financial solvency. In the case of NY Waterway and similar service providers, the consent of surety indicates that the organization possesses the liquid assets and credit to maintain service in the face of financial difficulties.
Rather than issuing the bond, NY Waterway instead submitted a certified letter of credit from a bank that spoke to the company’s sufficient funds and credit standing, which was deemed unsatisfactory by Monmouth County and grounds for disqualifying the bid.
Following the county’s award of contract for the Belford terminal operation to Seastreak, NY Waterway was to continue service through the end of October, but a lawsuit filed against Monmouth County extended that timeline through Dec. 4.
“As the need for ferry services has increased, the County wanted to make sure that travelers had a multitude of safe, reliable options to travel between Manhattan and Monmouth County, especially during peak travel times,” Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said in a Nov. 22 media release that announced the new contract with Seastreak.
As part of the new contract, in addition to daily commuter service, Seastreak plans to expand its holiday seasonal service to and from Manhattan to include the Belford terminal. County residents will also have access to seasonal weekend ferry services beginning spring 2023.
The article originally appeared in the December 1 – 7, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
