<P> Service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year along its 5.2 - mile (8.4 km) run . which carried 23.9 million passengers in fiscal year 2016 . While trips take 25 minutes, service usually runs every 30 minutes most hours of the day and night, with more frequent service during peak times . The Staten Island Ferry is administered separately from NYC Ferry . </P> <P> The ferry's single route departs Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal at South Ferry, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near the Battery . On Staten Island, the ferry arrives and departs from the St. George Ferry Terminal on Richmond Terrace, near Richmond County's Borough Hall and Supreme Court . The ferry ride provides views of the Lower Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, and as such, is a popular place for film shoots . It is a popular place to go on Saturday nights, as beer and food items are served at the snack bar . </P> <P> In the past, ferries were equipped for vehicle transport, at a charge of $3 per automobile . A vehicle ban was approved in 1992, after the Whitehall Terminal was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt without vehicle loading areas, but the September 11 attacks ended vehicle crossings at the temporary terminal as well . It has been proposed to bring car boarding back due to rising tolls on the Verrazano Bridge, but the plan was seen as unlikely due to the amount of effort needed to screen every car . </P> <P> While the ferries no longer transport motor vehicles, they do transport bicycles . There are two bicycle entrances to the ferry from either borough . The bike entrance is always on the first floor so bicyclists can enter the ferry from the ground without needing to enter the building . The ground entrance is also reserved exclusively for bike riders (everyone else must use the 2nd floor entrance). Cyclists must dismount and walk their bicycles to the waiting area and onto the boat and bicycles must be stored in the designated bicycle storage area on each boat . Cyclists are subject to screening upon arrival at the ferry terminals . Bicycles may also be taken on the lowest deck of the ferry without charge . </P>

When did staten island ferry stop taking cars