New York is launching its citywide ferry service on May 1

Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York will start rolling out its citywide ferry service a month ahead of schedule.

Shipyard workers in Louisiana and Alabama have been scrambling to get the fleet ready.

The first two routes are being launched on May 1.

De Blasio says a new Rockaway, Queens, route gets top priority because residents there have some of the city's longest commutes. The launch will also include an existing East River route whose ferries are to be refurbished.

The service, officially named NYC Ferry, will travel between Manhattan and waterfront neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

A South Brooklyn route will start June 1. An Astoria, Queens, route launches in August, followed by Lower East Side and Bronx routes in 2018. A ride will cost USD 2.75.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)