Court Orders Monmouth County: Reopen Bidding For Belford Ferry Service

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The battle over who gets to run Belford ferry service continues:

Currently, SeaStreak runs the ferries. But that may change yet again, because just last week the New Jersey appeals court ordered Monmouth County to reopen the bidding process for the service.

The April 2 decision — which you can read here — voided a previous decision from a Monmouth County Superior Court judge, who said the County Board of Commissioners were correct to award the ferry contract to SeaStreak.

Now, the entire thing must go back to the drawing board. Monmouth County must submit a request for proposals and choose a new ferry provider all over again.

SeaStreak will continue to run the ferries while the county goes back out to bid; passengers will not see any interruption in service.

Here's the history:

The Belford ferry terminal first opened in 1999 and NY Waterway has operated the ferries since the first day of service. Meanwhile, their archrival Seastreak runs the ferries from Atlantic Highlands/Highlands.

But NY Waterway's 20-year contract with the county expired in 2022. Monmouth County opened up the bidding process, and both SeaStreak and NY Waterway applied for the Belford-to-NYC route.

In the summer of 2022, the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners made the surprise decision to give a two-year, $2 million-contract to SeaStreak. At the time, they said they rejected NY Waterway's proposal because they did not include a "consent of surety." A consent of surety is a bond that proves a company can financially provide the service it says it can provide, such as maintain the ferry boats and hire staff.

NY Waterway told the Asbury Park Press they were "stunned" by the decision, saying they lost the contract due to a "technicality."

NY Waterway sued the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners, and Seastreak.

Last year, Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David Bauman ruled with Monmouth County, saying the commissioners awarded the bid correctly. (For those paying attention, Hon. Bauman is the same judge who ruled against Middletown school district last August, preventing the district from implementing its controversial transgender student policy.)

NY Waterway appealed, and this time appellate judges Maritza Berdote Byrne and Avis Bishop-Thompson sided with NY Waterway. The appeals court said Monmouth County did not follow the Local Public Contract Law.

"We reverse the decision of the trial court, conclude all bids are rejected, and the contract is to be re-advertised for bidding," read the court's April 2 decision.

"We are grateful that the New Jersey Appellate Court ordered a rebid of the contract,'' NY Waterway said in a statement last week. "We look forward to resubmitting our proposal for consideration, based on its merits. We remain confident that we can provide superior service at reasonable fares, and hope to have the opportunity to once again serve Monmouth County residents.''

SeaStreak tickets are slightly more expensive than NY Waterway.

Prior on this topic: Battle Over Belford Ferry Service: Seastreak Set To Take Over Jan. 1, 2023 (Oct. 2022)

NY Waterway also runs the NYC ferries from South Amboy, which just launched last October: First Day Of South Amboy-NYC Ferry Service: Customers 'Love It'