Ferries Want Bailout

NY Waterways is looking for more money despite falling fuel prices. Perhaps the biggest problem faced by the ferry company is an expiring lease on equipment coming due in September, which won't be renewed by owner CIT Group looking to minimize risk.

Meanwhile, as passengers tighten their belts, the $1.75 PATH ticket might just be a savings commuters can't pass up.

NY Waterways is looking for a buyout from one of the region's transit agencies claiming the service, like mass transit, is a crucial piece of infrastructure. In one sense, the owners are right. Not only were the ferries the first to rescue passengers from the downed US Airways jet, but the ferries carried passengers off the Island during the blackout in 2003 and on September 11th. On the other hand, maybe if the ferry service goes bankrupt, the regional transit agencies could buy up the company on the cheap.