New Ferry Begins Belford Service Sept. 1

Middletown, NJ - Are you a ferry commuter? A new ferry will begin departing from the Belford terminal starting next Thursday, Sept. 1.

NY Waterway’s newest ferry, the Betsy Ross, officially begins service Sept. 1 between the Belford/Middletown ferry terminal and Manhattan. The Betsy Ross will join the Molly Pitcher, already in service. The two ferries will operate weekdays between Belford/Middletown and Wall Street/the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, Paulus Hook in Jersey City and West 39th Street in Midtown, departing Belford from 5:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., with return trips leaving Manhattan between 1:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

A monthly pass is $635.

NY Waterways added the second ferry because the Molly Pitcher is so popular: The introduction of the Molly Pitcher helped spark an increase in Belford ridership, which is up 18.5% so far this year, the company says. If you take the ferry Sept. 1, you'll be given a special Betsy Ross sewing kits and free coffee and pastry to celebrate the occasion.

Both the Betsy Ross and the Molly Pitcher were built at Yank Marine in Tuckahoe, and are the first commuter ferries built in New Jersey in years, the company says. Both boats are 109 feet long, draw just six feet of water (reducing the need for dredging), and can hold 400 passengers each, with seating for 350. There are tiled restrooms on the lower and upper decks; flat-screen TVs throughout; WiFi; heated hand rails, outside decks and stairways and a marble bar, serving coffee in the morning and cocktails on the way home.

NY Waterways says more than 2,000 passengers leave from the Belford ferry terminal each day and head into Manhattan.

Patch file photo of the NY Waterways Belford ferry terminal