Come on, ride the Staten Island train

Just in case you missed it when the Daily News ran an easy-to-understand graphic showing that ridership on the Staten Island Railway was up 12.8 percent this year, amNew York’s got your back. New York’s free daily profiled the SIR yesterday, focusing on the exploding ridership and the quirks of the free train line. While the line could still support an increase in capacity of another 25 percent, hardly anyone pays the $2 fare that the MTA collects only at the St. George Ferry Terminal stop. In fact, many riders opt for a seven-minute walk to avoid that fare as well. I have to wonder if perhaps, with ridership on the climb, the MTA should consider trying to capture fares in Staten Island. Every dollar helps. [amNew York]