The Newburgh-Beacon ferry, shut down last year after years of ridership declines, will make a comeback the first two weekends of October thanks to a grassroots revival campaign on both sides of the Hudson River.
Weekend pilot service begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, the first of 14 daily crossings. Fourteen more 15-minute crossings follow on Oct. 4 and Oct. 10-11. Tickets are $1 for all ages.
In Newburgh, riders board at 40 Front Street. In Beacon, riders get on at the Bannerman Island dock, south of the original Beacon ferry dock. The last ferry of the day leaves Beacon at 6 p.m.
The Save the Ferry coalition hopes the effort will convince Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that the cross-Hudson service deserves
another chance.
The launch is timed to several weekend events on both sides of the river, including Newburgh Porchfest, Spirit of Beacon, Archtober Newburgh and the Beacon Music and Flow Festival. “We’re hoping to have full boats for the huge number of events on both shores over the next two weekends and invite everyone to participate,” said Carson Carter, one of Save the Ferry’s leaders.
Capacity for the New York Boat Company ferry is 39.
Business backs the ferry
Funding comes from $17,500 in contributions from Central Hudson Gas and Electric and the Fullerton Foundation, with an equal match from the Orange County Industrial Development Agency. In May, the agency pledged $100,000 for a weekend ferry pilot program, a total the Save the Ferry Coalition hopes to match in contributions in the coming months, Carter said.
Metro-North Railroad shut down the ferry in the summer of 2025 citing a ridership dip to 62 passengers per day for a service that cost the MTA $2 million per year.
Since then, Save the Ferry, a coalition boasting over 1,500 members, has lobbied local lawmakers and traveled to Albany to deliver a petition urging Hochul to push the MTA for a restart.
Carter blamed the ridership drops on a limited daily schedule, with few ferries available outside peak commuting hours. To be successful, Carter said, the ferry needs to run seven days a week, at regular intervals.
Since the shutdown, the state has increased the number of free shuttle buses over the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, which connects commuters to Manhattan-bound trains in Beacon.
But Carter and coalition members say bus service alone can’t satisfy demand from commuters west of the Hudson River who don’t have access to Manhattan-bound trains. And that demand is expected to grow in the coming years with the arrival of housing projects planned for both sides of the river.
In February, Hochul said the state would spend $1 million studying ways to improve the west of Hudson commute. Among the ideas up for consideration is one-seat bus ride into Manhattan for commuters in Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
Hochul named a fellow Democrat, Rep. Pat Ryan, to chair an advisory committee for the study.
Thomas C. Zambito covers energy, transportation and economic growth for the USA TODAY Network’s New York State team. He’s won dozens of state and national writing awards from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Deadline Club and others during a decades-long career that’s included stops at the New York Daily News, The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Hackensack. He can be reached at tzambito@lohud.com
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Newburgh-Beacon ferry is coming back (for now). Where, when to ride
