"You're still stuck in traffic," Naomi Hersson-Ringskog of the Save the Ferry Coalition told News 12 this month. She was describing the bus that now carries Newburgh riders across the Hudson to Beacon. She added that riders often say it runs 15 minutes late and they miss their train.
That same bus is free, it runs more often than it did a year ago, and News 12 reported that the MTA put the ferry's money toward making it so. Newburgh's crossing this winter rests on a trade the state already made. The ferry was given up for a cheaper, more frequent shuttle. The ferry's best case for coming back is a pair of sold-out October weekends, but the thing that will actually decide whether it returns is concrete and steel at two waterfronts.
The Bus Is the Crossing, and It Grew This Year
The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge Shuttle is run by Leprechaun Lines for the New York State Department of Transportation. As of the state's July 2, 2026 announcement, it made 65 trips each weekday, up from 41 the year before. It connected with at least 54 Metro-North trains each weekday, up from 25. The same release said ridership had more than doubled over the past year.
The service runs two routes. The Express goes from Stewart Airport and the Route 17K Park and Ride to Beacon Station. The Local adds five stops in downtown Newburgh. The posted timetable lists the downtown stops as:
- Broadway & West St
- Broadway & Robinson Ave/9W
- Broadway & Liberty St
- Grand St & South St
- North St & Robinson Ave/9W
Until this past summer the shuttle ran on weekdays only. Weekend and holiday service started Saturday, July 4. It runs from 7:45 a.m. to 8:52 p.m. and meets 27 trains between 8:15 a.m. and 8:23 p.m. On weekdays, Stewart Airport's transportation page lists shuttle hours of 5:39 a.m. to 10:23 p.m. Leprechaun Lines posts the full schedule on its shuttle page.
What the Ferry Cost, and What Replaced It
The ferry did not end because of a schedule change. In January 2025, ice damaged the Beacon dock, and the MTA suspended service. Repairs turned out to be major, and the boat never came back. In June 2025, Metro-North made the shutdown permanent. It cited average ridership of about 62 people a day in 2024 and operating costs of roughly $2.1 million a year, according to Chronogram.
Those two numbers explain how things stand now. Spread $2.1 million a year over about 62 daily riders, and the ferry was one of the most expensive ways to cross a river anywhere in the region. The replacement took over from the Ferry Rail Link substitute bus, which ended December 31, 2025. The expanded shuttle launched January 2, 2026, with more trips, more train connections and no fare.
The coalition argues that the ferry could have worked with better service and publicity, News 12 reported. The bus solved the cost problem. The October pilot was meant to show the demand problem had been misread.
Four Days in October, and What They Showed
Volunteers with the Save the Ferry Coalition raised $30,000 from the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, Central Hudson and the Awesome Newburgh Foundation. That paid for a weekend ferry on October 3 and 4 and again on October 10 and 11, The Highlands Current reported. The boat was a 39-passenger vessel chartered from the New York Boat Co. It made 14 crossings a day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and tickets cost $1. The owner, Austin Haase, provided the boat at a discount. "Anything we can do to get people connected with the river and connect more cities, I'm on board," he told the Current.
The coalition's pilot page listed Riverfront Newburgh Marina at 40 Front Street as the Newburgh landing and Long Dock Park at 23 Long Dock Road as the Beacon side. It put the crossing at about 15 minutes. The organizers scheduled the pilot to overlap with Spirit of Beacon, Newburgh Porchfest, the Beacon Flow Festival and Archtober Newburgh.
Every ticket for both weekends sold out, News 12 reported. Organizers planned to use rider interviews, spending and trip purposes to make their case to elected officials and the MTA. The coalition also pointed to the Ossining-to-Haverstraw ferry as a model, the Current noted. That route has run seasonal weekend service since May 2024.
Weekend pilots on festival weekends with $1 tickets show that people will ride a boat across the Hudson when they have a reason. Daily service needs something more basic.
The Docks Decide What Happens Next
The coalition told News 12 that permanent ferry service would most likely require Beacon to rebuild its dock and Newburgh to expand its own. Neither has happened yet.
| Waterfront | Where it stands as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Newburgh | The state Department of Environmental Conservation received the city's dock-expansion application on April 10, 2025. It issued an incomplete-application notice, then a second notice in February 2026 asking for more justification of the project's scale. |
| Newburgh | On August 10, 2026, the mayor said DEC wanted the proposed Newburgh Landing dock to be smaller, while the city pursued permits for the design as planned. |
| Beacon | The city was still working on dock repairs in October 2026. |
| Both | A temporary "spud dock" or barge has been floated as a workaround, and boat operators were discussing installation. |
The Newburgh timeline comes from Streetsblog New York and Mid-Hudson News. The Beacon and spud-dock updates come from Mass Transit. The dock is part of a bigger waterfront plan. In January the City of Newburgh said $2 million would advance Newburgh Landing and that the port project was expected to break ground later in 2026. No construction update has been posted since that city notice.
The coalition's next step is a longer pilot in 2027 and sharing its data with state officials, News 12 reported. A longer pilot can run on a temporary dock. A regular commuter boat needs permanent docks.
Planning Crossings Through the Winter
| Way across | Where you start in Newburgh | When | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge Shuttle, Local | Five downtown stops along Broadway, Grand St and North St | Weekdays about 5:39 a.m. to 10:23 p.m.; weekends and holidays 7:45 a.m. to 8:52 p.m. | Free through December 31, 2026 |
| Bridge Shuttle, Express | Stewart Airport or Route 17K Park and Ride | Per the posted timetable | Free through December 31, 2026 |
| Bridge walkway | Newburgh-Beacon Bridge pedestrian and bicycle path | Open 24/7 | Free |
| Ferry | None scheduled | A longer pilot is planned for 2027 | Not set |
The free fare is guaranteed only through the end of 2026. The state's July announcement repeated that promise but said nothing about fares after that. For now, a daily rider pays nothing to reach Beacon Station. It makes sense to watch the Leprechaun Lines page and Metro-North notices as January gets closer.
Some of Newburgh's own weekend routine also changes over the next six weeks. The Newburgh Farmers' Market runs Saturdays at Safe Harbors Green, 97 Broadway, through November 21. Its winter market moves indoors to the Ritz Theater lobby at 107 Broadway on Saturdays from December 5 through April 24, 2027. Both addresses are on Broadway, the street that carries three of the Local shuttle's downtown stops. The shuttle's weekend buses run until 8:52 p.m., so a Saturday market run and an evening in Beacon fit on the same free route through the end of the year.
If your plans this winter depend on the trip between Newburgh and the Beacon train, I'm glad to talk through which stops and schedules matter for the places you're considering. Isabel R. Alves follows these river crossings closely because for many Hudson Valley households they shape the whole week. Let's Connect.
