Queen City Bike Ferry Needs Expansion

"The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. has a problem, but it’s the kind that businesses love to have. It has succeeded beyond its expectations and now has to adjust to account for that. It is urgent that it does so before the bicycling season begins to roll.

The problem is with the Queen City Bike Ferry that the ECHDC launched with great hopes last year. It transports bicyclists between Canalside and the Outer Harbor, and leaders hoped to serve around 20,000 passengers during the 2015 season. It more than doubled that amount, attracting 50,000 passengers, including more than 9,000 during its first three weeks of operation. Successful doesn’t begin to describe it.

But sometimes success breeds challenges, and such is the case with the Queen City Bike Ferry. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, long a proponent and instigator of waterfront development here, noted that passengers had to cope with long lines, some waiting more than an hour. It created a disincentive to return, especially given that riders couldn’t know if their return trip would be similarly hindered."

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