TJN: Starting in spring 2007, Rockland and Westchester commuters can leave traffic tie-ups in their wake as they speed to lower Manhattan by ferry.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey awarded a $4.2 million, two-year contract yesterday that will allow New York Water Taxi to run the subsidized ferry service.

Commuters from Rockland can travel from the terminal in Haverstraw village by ferry, via a stop in Yonkers, to the financial district on Manhattan’s West Side or down to Pier 11, near Wall Street………The trip will take 85 to 90 minutes, and there would likely be three ferries leaving Rockland in the morning and the same number returning in the evening.

Riding the ferry will cost $300 to $500 a month, depending on the amount of state and county subsidies that the ferry operator receives, said Susan Meyer, spokeswoman for Rockland’s Public Transportation Department.

Negotiations to work out final details about fares and schedules will begin shortly, Meyer said. About $1.2 million in federal transportation funds and $4.2 million in Lower Manhattan Development Corp. money will be used to subsidize the fares.

Rockland transportation officials want to entice drivers, who usually travel alone, to ditch their cars in exchange for the ferry.

According to 2000 census figures, 11,210 Rockland workers either drove alone or carpooled to jobs in Manhattan � two-thirds of the county residents who work in Manhattan. Some 1,200 people who live in Orange County and work in lower Manhattan also might consider using the ferry.

Almost 22 percent of the Rockland workers with jobs in Manhattan work in lower Manhattan.

“It’s just an amazing number when the cost of gas is so expensive and traffic can be so incredibly congested,” Meyer said.

Rockland transportation officials are betting commuters will be willing to pay if they don’t have to switch between trains, buses and subways, if they receive what officials are touting as a relaxing ride and if they can shave at least 30 minutes off their daily commute.

Meyer estimated the ferry would have an average of 65 to 100 daily riders in its first year.

“If we get riders and people use it,” Meyer said, “we can expand service over time.”

Tom Fox, president of New York Water Taxi, said passengers would ride in insulated, quiet, air-conditioned or heated cabins. He said passengers would be able to use wireless Internet services to work on their laptops or just watch cable television. They could buy cappuccino from the cafe in the morning, while wine would be offered in the evenings.

New York Water Taxi plans to order 149-passenger boats, which would be accessible to the disabled and would have low-wake hulls, to reduce the impact on the marine environment, marina infrastructure and other boaters.

Fox said all parties had agreed to wait until spring to start.

“Winter is the toughest time to run the services, so the thought is take your time and do it right,” he said.

New York Water Taxi currently operates in New York City and New Jersey, offering commuter and sightseeing service

The other ferry operator that had competed for the service was NY Waterway. It offers ferry service from Haverstraw to Ossining, where commuters catch Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line.