NYC Ferry Launches New Astoria Route

New York, New York - August 29th, 2017Bytemark is excited to announce that long time ferry partner NYC Ferry is launching their latest time saving commuter route from Astoria. The new Astoria route will connect the growing residential and business communities of Western Queens and Roosevelt Island offering a much requested connection from the neighborhood to Pier 11/Wall Street, with stops along the way at Roosevelt Island, Long Island City, and East 34th Street. “Everyone will be able to cut their transit time in half. From the tip of Hallets Peninsula it’s only 1,515 feet to Manhattan yet it takes an hour to get to Midtown,” said City Councilman Costa Constantinides. “The NYC Ferry system is an innovative and sustainable use of our waterways to help residents commute to their jobs, see family, and run errands in Manhattan. The ferry will help western Astoria, where residents have to endure long subway rides, stay better connected with our city and help revitalize Hallets Peninsula.” The innovative mobile ticketing company, Bytemark, Inc. operates the mobile ticketing system for NYC Ferry. Ferry riders can download the NYC Ferry App to purchase e-tickets, allowing for easy validation-and-go-boarding, and get detailed maps and schedules, as well as real-time notifications and service alerts. The NYC Ferry App is live and available for download in both the Apple and Google Play stores. The overwhelming demand for NYC Ferry service has exceeded the city’s projections. Less than three months after NYC Ferry officially got underway, it hit its one millionth rider, which was almost a month earlier than projected. The success of both the app and the ferry are linked. Both offer a fast, easy to use, convenient service that is continually evolving. To accommodate for the popularity of the ferry system, the city plans to add three larger ferries to its current 20-vessel fleet. Currently, the ferries can hold 149 people, but the larger vessels will be able to carry up to 249 riders.

Bytemark Bytemark Inc. is a New York-based mobile application development company. Bytemark has been a leader in providing mobile ticketing technologies to the transit industry for 4 years with the release of the New York Waterway app in January 2012. Bytemark has offices in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and India and solutions currently deployed in Canada, USA, UK, Poland and the Netherlands. Bytemark continues to innovate and set the standards for mobile ticketing worldwide, delivering proven, secure mobile ticketing platforms for transit, tourism, and events. Combining visual, 2D barcode, and NFC (HCE) enabled ticketing we offer operators an integrated mobile commerce experience to suit any current infrastructure and budget. Bytemark’s solution allows operators to coordinate their efforts under one or more brands and share our comprehensive suite of reporting, payment, ticketing, and user tools. Our solutions increase the value of services that our clients can offer their communities; for example by enabling virtual partnerships with local and national attractions, businesses, events, and sports clubs.

Hornblower In 1980, Hornblower was acquired by Terry MacRae. What started as a two-at, 114-passenger charter yacht company in Berkeley, California has since expanded to a 70+ vessel, multi-million dollar marine hospitality company. And although it has been more than thirty years, MacRae’s mission hasn’t changed: Deliver premier quality dining, entertainment and cruise experiences while emphasizing customer service, safety and teamwork. Today, Hornblower continues to expand, growing its operations throughout North America.More recently, Hornblower was awarded by the New York City Economic Development Corporation the exclusive NYC Ferry contract. Hornblower will connect the 5 boroughs of New York City via water for the first time in nearly 100 years. With the plan of carrying over 4.6 million riders on 19 vessels and delivering service to 22 different landing locations, Hornblower will modernize and help expand how and where New Yorker’s choose to live, work, and play.