Commuting high school students can now ride the NYC Ferry for a steep discount this school year thanks to new legislation enacted by the NYC Council last year.

High school students, after applying for the program, will only have to pay $1.45 for NYC Ferry tickets, versus the full price, which is currently $4 and set to increase to $4.50 on Sept. 9. The high school discount program went into effect on Sunday.

The discount is available to all students in grades nine to 12, regardless of income, who are enrolled in a public, charter, or private high school in New York City. Tickets are valid for weekdays on all NYC Ferry routes and expire on Aug. 31, 2025. Students must re-enroll in the program each year.

City Council Member Amanda Farías (D-Bronx) sponsored the money-saving legislation last year to include city high school students in the ferry discount program. She said the program is important because it makes the ferry system “permanently affordable and accessible” for students. 

But she says her partnership with students at the Harbor School on Governors Island played a key role in getting the law passed. Students at the school expressed their need for a discounted ticket due to the inability to access the school directly from their home ferry landings, Farías explained. 

“There were students who lived just across the water in Brooklyn, commuting into Manhattan just to get the free Governors Island Ferry, adding unnecessary time to their commutes,” the council member said. “Our ferry system creates vital connections for New Yorkers across the city and we have to make sure that opportunity is available to students as well, especially when time back in their schedules can be added to their studies and post-school hours activities.”

The discount program will help families, too, Farías said.

“This program is not only about the students, but their families and lessening the economic burden on them,” she said.

To apply for the program, parents must create or log into their NYC Student Account (NYCSA). They should then click the button to request a discount code under NYC Ferry and use that code within the NYC Ferry app or to get paper tickets at the Wall Street/Pier 11 ticketing window, which is open daily 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Parents of non-public and charter high school students can enroll in the program by logging into or starting an NYCSA account. They should contact their child’s school for more information on how to create the account.

Senior citizens age 65 and older, as well as people with disabilities, are also among those New Yorkers eligible for NYC Ferry discounts. 

Farías will hold an in-person sign-up event at the Soundview Ferry Terminal in the Bronx on Sept. 4 from 3 to 6 p.m. to raise awareness about the discount program. The NYC Economic Development Corporation, which runs the NYC Ferry system, as well as the New York Public Library, will also be at the event.

For more information and to apply for the student discount program, visit the NYC Ferry website at ferry. NYC.