Staten Island Ferry ridership was down over 70 percent Monday morning compared to the same time last year, city officials said.
The city didn’t give specific rider numbers, but the ferry — Staten Island’s primary non-auto connection to Manhattan — served around 70,000 daily customers before the coronavirus hit.
Boats depart every 15 or 20 minutes at peak hours and every 30 minutes at other times of the day.
City Department of Transportation spokeswoman Alana Morales said the ferry “will continue to operate normally for those who rely on it to get to work,” but advised those who do not need to travel to stay home.
The city plans to open the windows on its two “Barberi class” boats — the Andrew J. Barberi and Samuel I. Newhouse — to convert those boats’ bridge decks into outdoor spaces.
To avoid spreading or contracting the disease, riders should keep distance from one another and not crowd terminal entries and exits, Morales said.
The drop in ferry ridership was first reported by the Staten Island Advance.