North Station-Seaport District ferry service lowering fares for general public

The privately funded, congestion-fighting ferry service from the Seaport District to near North Station has lowered its fare for the general public.

Recall that businesses such as Vertex, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Fallon Company are underwriting the route from Lovejoy Wharf to Fan Pier. The ferries, which leave every 20 minutes during rush hour, are free to employees, who apparently have been filling most of the almost 100 spots per run, per the Globe’s Jon Chesto.

The remaining seats are available to the general public—or at least that was the general plan. But one-way, peak-hour tickets cost $13, a princely sum for a 1.5-mile ride.

So the businesses behind the ferries are lowering the general public price to $5 total one way during peak trips. The new fare goes into effect April 1. The companies also plan to reserve 15 seats per trip for the public versus five now.

The ferry route is supposed to run for a year (it started in January) as a test, but the ridership so far could mean it keeps going after 2019. Stay tuned.