September 01, 2009
Direct Bus Route to and from Staten
Island Ferry to Benefit Area College Students
Before a crowd of students, faculty and administrators at the
entrance of St. John’s University’s Staten Island Campus, U.S.
Senator Charles E. Schumer announced this past Monday that the
Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development
Appropriations Subcommittee has approved $260,000 to St. John’s
University for a shuttle bus service on Staten Island. The service
will provide a direct path from St. John’s University and Wagner
College to the Staten Island Ferry.
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The funding was a collaborative effort between Sen. Schumer and
Rep. Michael E. McMahon (D–Staten Island/Brooklyn) and has been
approved as part of the Senate Appropriation process included in
the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations
Bill. The bill has passed out of the Subcommittee and now
will need to be approved by the full Senate Appropriations
Committee, after which it will be sent to the Senate floor, and
then to President Barack Obama for signature.
“St. John’s and Wagner are great institutions and I
believe higher education is the future of America. Both colleges
have a long tradition on Staten Island and I’m happy to announce
that we’ve secured $260,000 in federal funding to support this
public transportation service for the next two years,” said Sen.
Schumer.
The project is called the Staten Island Ferry Campus Shuttle Bus
Service and will help support two institutions of higher education
on Staten Island to give students, faculty, and visitors from both
institutions additional transportation options both to and from the
Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The bus route will be a much-needed,
positive step in the expansion of public transportation for all of
Staten Island. Staten Island, specifically in the area around the
Staten Island Expressway, is hampered by congestion. The shuttle
will ease traffic in the area and provide a necessary route to the
Staten Island Ferry for students in the area. Both schools sit atop
Grymes Hill, which makes for a difficult two mile walk to and from
the ferry.
“Sen. Schumer is fighting hard in Washington for many different
causes and concerns but in particular he’s fighting for
transportation issues that affect all those who live, work and go
to school on Staten Island,” said Brian Browne, Assistant Vice
President for Government Relations at St. John’s University.
“When we approached his office with this proposal he and his staff
got right behind it. The message to take away from this
announcement is that we (Wagner and St. John’s) have a friend in
Senator Schumer.”
The Staten Island Ferry Terminal is located 2 miles away from both
Wagner College and the Staten Island Campus of St. John’s
University which are located on top of a steep hill. In terms of
public transportation, there are two travel options for commuting
students: Students can take the S62 Bus that runs along Victory
Boulevard and get off at the bus stop at Theresa Place and the
campus is then a 10 minute walk either up or down a steep hill or
students take the S62 Bus to the corner Clove Road and transfer to
the S60 Bus that runs up Howard Avenue and drops students off at
Arlo Road for a very short walk to campus. The S60 Bus runs
on a limited schedule from 6:15am-9:15pm and even less on
weekends.
“Students who come to study at Wagner College enjoy the benefits of
having what we think of as the best of both worlds; a traditional
campus on a beautiful park-like borough and easy access to
Manhattan,” said Richard Guarasci, President of Wagner College.
“The campus shuttle will, in our opinion, make the choice to study
here even more compelling.”
To supplement the limited public transportation access to the
Staten Island Ferry Terminal, St. John’s University and Wagner
College currently have been sharing the use of an outsourced
privately operated Shuttle Service to and from the campuses to the
Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The Shuttle Service runs Monday
through Friday from 6:40am-11:30pm and has a ridership of 50,000
each semester for a total of 100,000 riders per academic
year. But St. John’s University and Wagner College have been
searching for a more permanent solution and have sought federal
funds to create their own independently operated shuttle service or
to cover the costs of the current shuttle service. The funds will
help support two institutions of higher education on Staten Island
and would give students from both institutions additional
transportation options to/from the Staten Island Ferry
Terminal.
St. John’s University’s Staten Island Campus is situated on a 17
acre campus in a peaceful, tree-lined residential community.
The Staten Island Campus is home to almost 1,600 undergraduate
students and approximately 300 graduate students and has a small
residential component with students residing at the neighboring
Grymes Hill Apartments. Wagner College is located on 105 acres of
park-like grounds atop Grymes Hill and is home to almost 1,900
undergraduate students and approximately 300 graduate
students.
For more information contact Dominic Scianna, Assistant Vice
President for Media Relations at St. John’s University by calling
(718) 990-6185 or e-mail inquires to sciannad@stjohns.edu.