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Port Imperial Ferry Corporation

Weehawken, NJ · NTD ID 20190 · 2024 report year

Annual trips6.2 million #98 in the US
Operating expense$31.6 million 2024, as reported
Cost per rider$5.07 all modes combined
Farebox recovery135.9% fares ÷ operating cost

Port Imperial Ferry Corporation carries 6.2 million passenger trips a year across two modes — ferryboat and bus — making it the 98th-busiest transit operator in the United States. It is based in Weehawken, NJ.

It spends $31.6 million a year running that service, or $5.07 per trip. Its ferryboat service, the largest of its modes, costs $5.25 per rider — 73% below the $19.42 median for the 39 US agencies reporting ferryboat.

Over the 10 years reported, ridership remains 22% below its 2019 level, the last full year before the pandemic, and up 10% on 2023. Fares cover 136% of operating cost.

Service by mode, 2024

ModeAnnual tripsOperating expense Cost per ridervs national median FareboxVehicles
Ferryboat#4 of 39 nationally 4,694,357 $24.7 million $5.25 -73% 174% 19
Bus#199 of 1,162 nationally 1,536,407 $6.9 million $4.50 -68% — 33

Ridership, 2015–2024

8.0 million 2.3 million 2024 2015
YearAnnual trips Operating expense (2024 $)Cost per rider (2024 $)
2024 6,230,764 $31.6 million $5.07
2023 5,689,838 $28.6 million $5.02
2022 4,802,643 $30.2 million $6.29
2021 2,619,257 $25.7 million $9.82
2020 2,341,334 $28.0 million $11.96
2019 8,032,326 $47.2 million $5.87
2018 8,024,422 $49.0 million $6.11
2017 7,684,929 $47.0 million $6.11
2016 7,470,835 $49.8 million $6.66
2015 7,235,106 $48.5 million $6.70

Where Port Imperial Ferry Corporation ranks

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Source & method. Figures are from the Federal Transit Administration's National Transit Database (NTD) annual reporting for 2024, the most recent published report year. Cost per rider is operating expense divided by unlinked passenger trips. Farebox recovery is fare revenue divided by operating expense. Ten-year trends are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; single-year figures are as reported. Agencies self-report to the NTD, and reporting practice varies, so figures are best read as comparable in magnitude rather than to the cent.