Ferries could chart course for commuters
A new ferry service offering a scenic ride from Lonsdale Quay to Granville Island is expecting to launch this summer and the operator hopes one day to grow into a commuting option for locals.
But the $20 one-way or $30 return ticket is targeting adventurous tourists or locals.
“If the demand is there, with potential for new locations, we could possibly offer commuting,” said Sabina Smirnow, general manager of Pacific Ferries.
“We haven’t crunched those (commuting ticket) numbers yet,” she said.
The plan is for two routes, connecting the North Shore and Vancouver — Granville Island to the St. Roch dock at Shipyard Park next to Lonsdale Quay and Westin Bayshore Hotel dock to St. Roch.
The two boats, with room for 12 passengers, will be scheduled to leave hourly from each location, she said.
The service is offering a “soft launch” this week, with full regular service expected by the beginning of June.
The service is being offered as a “hop off ” daylong tour for passengers who buy a $75 daily pass for unlimited travel.
Smirnow said the company expects locals who want to save time and “avoid sitting in traffic” on the two bridges will take the 25-minute Granville Island-Lonsdale Quay trip. The other crossing is expected to take 15 minutes.
It competes with TransLink’s SeaBus, which costs a quarter of the one-way price and departs from downtown Vancouver.
Pacific Ferries, which also operates boats between Gibson’s Landing on the Sunshine Coast, Bowen Island and Granville Island, has leases with the operators of each of the docks and the permission of Transport Canada and the various municipalities for the service.
“People we’ve talked to are super excited,” said Smirnow.
Granville Island’s manager, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., last year launched a transportation strategy designed to reduce the number of vehicles at the popular tourist attraction.
This month, it implemented a hefty fee for tour buses who drive on to the island to drop off passengers and eliminated the parking lot for the buses.
The new service is a “welcome alternative” for residents and tourists from the North Shore and downtown Vancouver to visit Granville Island “without driving,” said spokeswoman Lisa Ono in an email.
She said it adds to the service offered by False Creek Ferries and by Aquabus on False Creek.
“We would be interested in expanded routes and destinations, and in general, our goal is to reduce reliance on private vehicles and encourage other modes of travel,” she said.