Sofia Duran, William Wong, Allen Zhang

1. NYC Ferry Weekday
Service Optimization
in the Midst of COVID-
19
By Sofia Duran, William Wong, and Allen Zhang
December 18, 2020
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2. System Overview
● 5 routes
● Average Weekday Ridership
● Operating cost: $12.27/pax (2019)
● 20 Landings (1 more Landing in summer)
● 35 Vessels
● Speed: ~30 mph
● Fare price: $2.75/ride
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2019 2020 Comparison
Q1 10,006 10,401 +3.9%
Q2 17,842 3,903 -78.1%
Q3 23,468 11,599 -50.6%
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3. Motivation
“(Only) $28 million in 42nd Street and other proceeds being sent (from the EDC in 2019) to the city
treasury for the fiscal year that ended June 30. That’s down from $125 million in 2014 and $103 million
in 2016 (when NYC Ferry did not exist).”
“The operator of the cash-strapped NYC Ferry system has lined up $90 million of financing to help keep
its tourist boats and commuter lines running by pledging some of its Niagara Falls assets to creditors.”
“NYC Ferry has announced the permanent elimination of its Lower East Side route, effective Monday,
May 18”
Goal: Serving ferry customers with the least amount of resources (cost) to maintain the survival of NYC
Ferry through COVID-19
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4. Methodology - Forecasting Demand
Forecasting winter ridership:
1. Obtain average weekday ridership of each landing in Q3 2019, Q4 2019, Q3 2020
2. Calculate percentage change in ridership between Q3 and Q4 2019
3. Systemwide: ~ 7,000 pax/weekday in Q4 2020
4. Create O-D matrix
5. $12.27 operating cost/rider x ~7,000 riders/weekday = ~$86K operating cost/weekday
6. ~$86K / 2017.35 operating miles/weekday = $42.65 operating cost/mile
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5. Methodology - Model Formulation
● Multi-commodity
● Uncapacitated
● Linear
● Assignment game model
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6. Methodology - Gurobi
1. Created all files required for the model
2. Import file data into arrays
3. Add decision variables, constraints, objective function
4. Gurobi code to run model
○ 72 minute runtime
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7. Alternative System 1
● 2 routes
● Systemwide length = 84.36 miles
● Schedule (~ 6 am - 8:15 pm)
● Operating miles/day = 1,940.28 miles
○ 77.07 mi less than current system
○ Fleet size requirement = 17
○ $3,287 savings per weekday
● Strengths
○ Reduce operator financial stress
○ More frequent service for some passengers
● Weaknesses
○ Long travel time of Route A
○ Losing direct services
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8. Alternative System 2
● 2 routes
● Systemwide length = 84.36 miles
● Frequency - 45 Minutes
● Operating miles/day = 1,771.56 miles
○ 245.79 mi less than current system
○ Fleet size requirement = 11
○ $10,483 savings per weekday
● Strengths
○ More monetary savings
○ Predictable schedule
● Weaknesses
○ Long travel time of Route A
○ Losing direct services
○ Less frequent service
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9. Alternative System 3
● 3 routes
● Systemwide length = 84.36 miles
● Frequency
● Operating miles/day = 1,694.88 miles
○ 322.47 mi less than current system
○ Fleet size requirement = 16
○ $13,753 savings per weekday
● Strengths
○ Reduce operator financial stress
○ Shorter trip times
○ Rockaway service
● Weakness
○ Additional Transfers
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10. Proposed System Design
Summary of the Three Alternatives
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11. Alternative System 3
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12. Possible Future Analysis
● Impact of routes on revenue
● Further analysis of schedule and coordination
● Expand to include user trip savings comparisons
● Potential of Model post pandemic
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13. Question?
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