Sink or Swim: de Blasio's Ferry Plan

On yesterday's show, Mayor Bill de Blasio described his plan to expand ferry service to all five boroughs. 

"We have not seen ferry service provided at an affordable price and with the kind of frequency and the kind of routes that would really attract a large ridership," he said.

So what might a successful ferry program look like? And what would it mean for mass transit? 

Sam Schwartz, aka "Gridlock Sam", former New York City traffic commissioner, and Roland Lewis, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, discuss the feasibility of the mayor's plan, ferry economics, and how the infrastructure would contribute to the mass transit networks in the five boroughs. Schwartz is also president and CEO of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a traffic planning and engineering firm. 

Map of the proposed ferry system. 

(NYC/NYC Mayor's Office)

Map from the Mayor 's Office showing a new proposal for a network of ferries.

(NYC/NYC Mayor's Office)