Staten Island Ferry 5.2

The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry shuttle operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. It runs 5.2mi in New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. The ferry operates 24/7 and is free. It is one of several ferries in the New York City area, besides NYC Ferry, New York Water Taxi, and NY Waterway.The Staten Island Ferry has the largest ridership of any single ferry system in the United States, due to the lack of transit connections between Staten Island and the other boroughs, including Manhattan. The ferry operates between Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan and St. George Terminal in St. George, Staten Island. At Whitehall Street, connections are available to the New York City Subway and several local bus routes. On the other end, passengers can take the Staten Island Railway, the only rapid transit service on the island, or one of the many buses available at the St. George Bus Terminal, the main bus terminal on the island.The Staten Island Ferry was formed in 1817 when the Richmond Turnpike Company started a steamboat service from Manhattan to Staten Island. Cornelius Vanderbilt bought the company in 1838, and it was sold to the Staten Island Railroad Company in 1864. The Staten Island Ferry was then sold to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1884, and the City of New York assumed control of the ferry in 1905, buying five new ships for the service. The ferry was at one point the only commuter ferry within the entire city, after the discontinuation of a ferry from Manhattan to Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1967.