North Ferry Company, Inc. representatives are scheduled to appear at Tuesday’s Town Board work session to explain the company’s requested rate increase.
Under state law, the Suffolk County Legislature has the sole authority to license ferry operations here and approve ferry rates. The county Budget Review Office (BRO) has reviewed and endorsed North Ferry’s proposal, which would raise rates across most vehicle and passenger fares.
The BRO said the requested rates “should provide sufficient capital during the nearterm to maintain the current level of service for the public.”
The discussion during Tuesday’s 1 PM work session at Town Hall is for informational purposes only. The Town Board has no jurisdiction over ferry rates.
North Ferry General Manager Bridg Hunt is expected to speak. Stella Lagudis, general manager of the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation, said she also plans to attend.
May 2 public hearing
At the county level, the next step is a public hearing set for Tuesday, May 2, at 9:30 AM during the Suffolk County Legislature meeting. It occurs at William H. Rogers Building #20, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway in Smithtown. Those interested in commenting may do so in person or by email to frank.tassone@suffolkcountyny.gov.
Or, you can send comments by regular mail to the attention of the Clerk’s Office at the Suffolk County Legislature P.O. Box 6100, Hauppauge, NY 11788. Or, you can call 631-853-3685 and leave a message (the limit is 3 minutes). Submitted comments will be distributed to legislators.
Following a vote to approve the request, the new rates would go into effect when the company’s current license expires in June.
Proposed fares
Here are relevant summary notes from BRO findings:
- The proposed fare rate modifications increase 26 out of the 36 fares; additionally, one fare is decreased, one fare is abolished, one new fare is created, and eight fares remain unchanged
- Fare changes range from minus 25 percent to plus 50 percent, resulting in an average rate increase of 9.6 percent
- The last fare increase was granted two years ago, effective July 9, 2021
- North Ferry estimates that the proposed rate increases would generate additional revenue of approximately $896K annually, for a 10.2 percent increase over 2022 fare revenue
“The Budget Review Office believes that the requested fare increases have merit and should provide sufficient revenue for maintaining current service levels for the public and to fund over $2 million in necessary capital improvements,” the report says. “The request for rate relief should be granted.”
You can read the Budget Review Office report here.
Car and passenger rates
The single largest percentage fare increase — 50 percent — applies to the “Passenger One-way Walk-on, in Car, or in Commuter Car” rate. North Ferry proposed raising it from $2 to $3. The BRO says the rate last went up in 2006 from $1 to $2. Before that, it was unchanged since 1993.
The BRO compared the requested 50 percent increase to the non-seasonally adjusted Transportation CPI-U increase for New York-Newark-Jersey City since 2006, which it found to be 48.23 percent. The similarity over these 17 years supports “the proposed increase as reasonable,” the BRO says.
The following table shows proposed car and passenger rates:
| Category | Current Rate | Proposed Rate | $ +/(-) | % +/(-) |
| CARS | ||||
| One-way Car & Driver | $14.00 | $15.00 | $1.00 | 7.1 |
| Round Trip Car & Driver | $22.00 | $24.00 | $2.00 | 9.1 |
| Prepaid FerryPass CARS | ||||
| SI Resident O/W | $6.40 | $6.90 | $0.50 | 7.8 |
| SI Resident R/T | $7.80 | $8.40 | $0.60 | 7.7 |
| GPT Resident O/W | $7.30 | $7.80 | $0.50 | 6.8 |
| GPT Resident R/T | $9.20 | $9.90 | $0.70 | 7.6 |
| Nonresident O/W | $7.90 | $8.50 | $0.60 | 7.6 |
| Non-Resident R/T | $10.60 | $11.40 | $0.80 | 7.5 |
| Weekly Commuter, expiring Sunday | ||||
| 5-day Resident | $39.00 | $42.00 | $3.00 | 7.7 |
| 5-day Nonresident | $46.00 | $49.00 | $3.00 | 6.5 |
| 6-day Nonresident | $52.00 | $56.00 | $4.00 | 7.7 |
| Passengers | ||||
| In Cars or Walk-ons | $2.00 | $3.00 | $1.00 | 50 |
| In Commuter Cars O/W | $2.00 | $3.00 | $1.00 | 50 |
| In Commuter Cars R/T | $3.00 | $3.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| In Resident Cars O/W | $2.00 | $1.50 | (-$0.50) | (-25) |
| In Resident Cars R/T | $3.00 | $3.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| SI Resident Passengers | $1.50 | $1.50 | $0.00 | 0 |
| Nonresident FerryPass O/W | NEW | $2.50 | – | – |
Other vehicles
Below are the proposed fares for motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, buses, and HazMat:
| Category | Current Rate | Proposed Rate | $ +/(-) | % +/(-) |
| Motorcycles | ||||
| One-way including Driver | $8.00 | $8.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| Round Trip Car including Driver | $10.00 | $10.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| Bicycles | ||||
| O/W including Rider | $4.00 | $4.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| R/T including Rider | $6.00 | $6.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| 5-day Bicycle Commuter | $4.00/day | $5.00/day | $1.00 | 25 |
| Trucks | ||||
| Two-axle (including boat & light-duty trailers), first 18 feet | $14.00 | $15.00 | $1.00 | 7.1 |
| Two-axle, each foot over 18 | $1.20 | $1.29 | $0.09 | 7.5 |
| More than two axles, first 18 | $22.00 | $23.00 | $1.00 | 4.5 |
| More than two axles, over 18 | $1.20 | $1.29 | $0.09 | 7.5 |
| Dump Trucks under 18K lbs GVWR, first 18 | $14.00 | $15.00 | $1.00 | 7.1 |
| Dump Trucks under 18K lbs GVWR, over 18 | $1.20 | $1.29 | $0.09 | 7.5 |
| Empty | By axle rate | By axle rate | $0.00 | 0 |
| Loaded | $12 + $2.25/foot | $12 + $2.42/foot | $0.17 | 7.6 |
| Construction trailer (4+ tires) | $2.00/foot | $2.00/foot | $0.00 | 0 |
| Heavy Truck | $85.00 | $91.00 | $6.00 | 7.1 |
| Buses | ||||
| Mini Bus, first 18 feet | $14.00 | $15.00 | $1.00 | 7.1 |
| Full-size School Bus O/W | $50.00 | $53.00 | $3.00 | 6.0 |
| Full-size School Bus R/T | $61.00 | $65.00 | $5.00 | 6.6 |
| Coach Bus O/W | $80.00 | $86.00 | $6.00 | 7.5 |
| Coach Bus R/T | $110.00 | $118.00 | $8.00 | 7.3 |
| HazMat | ||||
| Aboard Large Ferry | $275.00 | $296.00 | $21.00 | 7.6 |
How are ferry rates regulated?
All ferry services operating across bodies of water within Suffolk County must obtain a license and rate approval from the County Legislature (Chapter 455 of the Laws of Suffolk County).
This county oversight is done by relevant state laws (Section 131-g of NYS Highway Law, Article 8 of NYS Navigation Law, and Article 6 of NYS Transportation Corporations Law).
The county’s Ferry Service Law intends to assure “continuous and adequate ferry service in Suffolk County.”
Shelter Island’s North and South ferries are two of seven ferry services currently licensed by the county. All seven are owned and operated by private companies. The North Ferry license runs through June 18, 2023, and the South Ferry license through January 4, 2024.
Petitions to change rates may be submitted during license renewal or at any other time. They go simultaneously to the Legislature’s clerk and the BRO. Petitions must include:
- A balance sheet including net worth and retained earnings
- Profit and loss statements stating all income and expenses
- A statement of changes in the financial position
During its review, the BRO may further “inspect and examine any and all financial accounting records, accounts, books, contracts, documents, papers and procedures connected with the rate-setting process,” the relevant county code says, in part.
The process may include “inquiry into any financial transactions between any subsidiary, affiliate or parent firm or corporation of the petitioner.” While such information may be referred to in a BRO report, the privileged information itself is generally not directly accessible to the public.
Accounting for expenses
North Ferry reported a 5.9 percent overall increase in operating expenses between 2021 and 2022, driven predominantly by:
- fuel (up 59 percent)
- overhead (up 6.6 percent)
- payroll and related costs (up 2.9 percent)
The company said payroll and related costs accounted for approximately $5.6M or 67 percent of total operating expenses in 2022.
The BRO report notes that most North Ferry employees are subject to terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement with the Atlantic Maritime Group of Masters, Mates, and Pilots, AFL-CIO, that provides for annual pay raises.
After the previous agreement expired in December 2022, North Ferry and the union entered into a 4-year agreement good through December 31, 2026. Under this agreement, payroll costs will rise $2.3M over four years. In the last year of the contract, the BRO report said, the annual increase paid represents a 14.6 percent increase over 2022 total payroll and related costs.
Recent improvements
The company ended its 2022 fiscal year with $370,661 in net income, according to statements submitted to the BRO.
“North Ferry plans on continuing to reinvest its retained earnings back into its business as they have done in recent times,” the BRO report said.
Among recently completed capital improvements:
- $3.7M to purchase the energy-efficient Menhaden to replace the smaller Islander in 2019 with annual debt service exceeding $225K
- $102K to refurbish the Menantic in 2019 and $72K to refurbish the Mashomack in 2021
- $434,905 to install two new tie-up slips on Shelter Island in 2019 to accommodate the larger ferries and to provide better storm weather security (also included improved lighting and crew access ramps)
- $69.8K for a spare engine for the Menhaden
- $32K to replace the engineer’s truck in 2022
- $363,713 to replace the north ramp in Greenport, completed in 2022, raising it 18 inches and extending it 24 inches to accommodate extreme high tides in preparation for rising sea levels
- $173,183 to repave New York Avenue and sections of Grand Avenue in 2022
New capital expenses
According to the BRO report, the following capital improvements totaling approximately $3M are currently underway or planned to start within the next several years:
- Continue renewal of ferry tie-up slips that were initially installed in 2003 at an estimated cost of $250,000 per year during the next several years
- Complete new bulkhead at the Greenport ferry landing to accommodate rising tides (Costello Marine expects spring 2024 completion; remaining cost is $167,974)
- Complete the Shelter Island East Ramp in April 2023; the projected cost is $350,000 plus $150,000 in related slip improvements to accommodate rising tides and flood mitigation
- Reconstruct and extend of two remaining ramps; the South Ramp in Greenport and West Ramp on Shelter Island
- Install watertight doors in three ferries at about $70K per vessel for better access to the interior hull for inspections and protection from saltwater intrusion
- Along with the door installation, the interior compartments of the three vessels will be overhauled at a projected cost of $50k to $80K each
- Re-power the Menantic with two rebuilt engines to replace the current engines, which each has over 100,000 hours of service (cost yet to be determined)
- Purchase eight new replacement ferry propellers at a total of $112K
- Install a shore-based latching system to secure vessels during loading and unloading is in the active design stage for the Greenport landing (North Ferry plans to implement the system after all four new ramps are installed — the $100K docking system eliminates the need for vessels to remain in gear during loading/unloading, saving an estimated 15,000 gallons of fuel per year and improving safety)
- Complete upgrades and installation now underway of two new LAN servers and related networking hardware and software to improve security and reliability for internal systems, including ticketing, accounting, and billing (estimated cost is $30K)
- Refurbish interiors at the Shelter Island office building which dates from 1998, including replacing floors and painting (estimated cost is $25K)
