October 28, 2005

Statue of Liberty Circle Line Ferry in hot water - Sun

Circle Line, the ferry company that has held the monopoly on ferry service to the Statue of Liberty since 1953, "has apparently paid for more than $1.7 million of its own operations by using a fund meant to pay for capital improvements at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island," the New York Sun reports.Circle Line-Statue of Liberty Ferry Inc. instead used $370,000 for marketing, $120,000 to repair the Battery Park seawall damaged by Circle Line boats, $200,000 for an electronic ticketing system, (which adds a per-ticket $1.75 fee,) and $60,000 for vessel positioning systems and air conditioning in the ferry pilot houses.

A National Park Service spokesman told The Sun that the government had "authorized the funding" but it was unclear whether that was a violation of the concession contract. The Sun got a solid "no comment" from the president of Circle Line, J.B. Meyer.

This past June, Circle Line was given permission to raise its fares to $11.50 from $10, and the company plans to ask for an additional 50-cent increase next month, The Sun reports. On top of that, Circle Line said it will be "submitting annual requests for fare increases sometime between November 15th and November 30th of every year," according to a letter the ferry's law firm sent to the Park Service.

The ferry route -- which serves the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with a dual ticket -- was last out for bid in 1989. Although other companies complained they were shut out of the process, Circle Line won a 15-year contract. Last year, Circle Line was a given a three-year extension good until 2007. Unnamed sources quoted by The Sun estimated the Statue of Liberty route grosses about $37 million annually.

October 28, 2005 01:18 AM in Sightsology

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