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GO Bus, GO Train, what about a GO Boat?


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Ferry Godfather

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Sheryl Nadler, the Hamilton Spectator

Ian Taylor, president of Reflex Advanced Marine Corp. has invented a ferry to shuttle commuters between Toronto and Hamilton and avoid congested highways.

'We want to give people another option. We have GO Bus and GO Train so why not GO Boat?'

By Deirdre Healey

The Hamilton Spectator

(Sep 1, 2006)

Being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Skyway bridge is enough to frustrate anyone.

But it's the vast, empty body of water surrounding the bridge that really annoys Ian Taylor.

While drivers keep their eyes on the vehicle ahead of them, inching their way forward on the QEW, Taylor is looking at the lake below, envisioning a clear transportation route just waiting to be used.

The Hamilton entrepreneur has spent the past two years formulating a plan to start a ferry system that can shuttle commuters from Hamilton to Toronto.

"The traffic congestion in Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe is not getting better and it's not going away," he said. "We want to give people another option. We have GO bus and train so why not GO boat?"

Taylor, who is a master boat builder and owns Reflex Advanced Marine Corp., has designed and patented a tri-hull boat that he argues is perfect for ferrying passengers.

The design allows for speed, fuel efficiency and a steady ride. He is currently building four of his 110-foot boats, which seat 275 passengers, for an American casino to shuttle customers. He is also working on trying to create interest in developing a similar system in Hamilton that would provide a ferry service spanning from St. Catharines to Pickering. The service would be targeted towards people who live close to the shore and want to travel into downtown Toronto and the fares would be on par with those charged by GO Transit.

"It's a specific window of people, but would still take a huge amount of cars off the road," he said. "People could get on the ferry, grab a coffee and a newspaper and enjoy the ride."

The ferry would dock at the Queen's Quay and passengers could then hop onto a street car or take the subway to their destination. He said he wants his system to work in collaboration with GO Transit.

The ferry terminal in Hamilton would be located on the beach side beyond the lift bridge to avoid the annual freezing of the harbour. His boat travels at 70 km/h and Taylor said he could easily get passengers from Hamilton to Toronto in 40 minutes.

When the boats aren't shuttling commuters, he said they can be used to take passengers on harbour tours, shuttle them to Niagara or provide dinner cruises. All these ventures would help augment commuter fares.

Taylor has thought of everything. The only obstacle in his way is funding. He has approached the province and said he was told there is funding available for rail and road, but not for ferries.

"They are building more roads, but they will just fill up. That doesn't fix the problem," he said. "And there isn't enough available space to build the rail lines needed to meet the demand."

The province does fund nine ferry transportation systems, but in most cases the ferry system is serving an island population where it is a necessary mode of transportation and not an alternative.

Taylor is now working with private finance companies to fund the building of the boats. The operation would then be turned over to a leasing company, which would lease the boats to the municipality of Hamilton or Toronto or a private company.

"I believe the private sector will have to prove to the public sector that this works," he said.

About four ferry proposals have been presented to the City of Hamilton over the past five years, but there hasn't been any support from the upper levels of government, said Councillor Chad Collins.

There is significant infrastructure required such as the terminal and parking, he said.

"It's a great concept, but not one that will work under the current system."

Greg Gormick, Toronto transportation analyst, said Taylor's idea is feasible, but difficult to sell.

"He is ahead of his time," Gormick said. "Right now the car is dominating transportation funding."

Taking a ferry to work is common in Europe and Hong Kong and even New York State, but it hasn't caught on in Canada, he said.

"Where it has been applied, it has succeeded," he said. "The demand is there. People want alternatives."

As congestion grows and fuel prices climb, Gormick is convinced more ferry systems will be created, but Taylor may have to wait a few more years.

dhealey@thespec.com

905-526-3468

Ways of getting from Hamilton's GO Centre to Union Station in Toronto

GO Train

* One-way trip takes 50 minutes to an hour

* $17.70 return trip

* $285.00 monthly pass

GO Bus

* One-way trip takes between 55 and 65 minutes and add another 30 minutes during rush hour.

* $17.70 return trip

* $285.00 monthly pass

Vehicle

* One-way trip takes about 50 minutes, add another 30 minutes during rush hour

* $12.06 return trip at a rate of 10 kilometres per litre and a gas price of 90 cents per litre

* $241.20 a month

Taylor's ferry

* Trip expected to take 40 minutes

* Fare will be on par with GO Transit.

Why don't trains travel to Hamilton anyways? Low ridership?

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Why don't trains travel to Hamilton anyways? Low ridership?

Wilson Wu

Markham, ON

GO provides three morning peak trains departing Hamilton at 0614, 0634, and 0704. Four homenbound trains return in the afternoon peak at 1630, 1702, 1734, and 1835. Service operates only on weekdays exuluding weekends and statutory holidays. In conjunction with the peak rail service the Hamilton QEW Express GO Bus service operates every thirty minutes or better with frequent peak service. Off-peak services range from every thirty to fourty-five to an hour intervals.

The QEW market has a strong ridership base with dedicated customers who choose the bus option rather than the train for convenience. The train service operates in local service from Hamilton to Oakville/Clarkson then express to Union. Homebound train service is the reverse.

I heard of a similar venture a couple years ago about an individual trying to start a service in the East which would ferry passengers from Oshawa to Queens Quay, but it was just talk and plans.

Overall, I think its an excellent concept that could free up resources for other corridors. Currently there are plans for all day service to Aldershot and weekend train service to Oshawa. There are a number of projects and improvements system wide that will allow GO to increase trains system wide. Once GO has maximized its full rail potential maybe then a ferry option could be considered.

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Yes that was the Breeze.

The failed Toronto-Rochester fast ferry was known as the Breeze back in 2004, until the previous operator went out of business because of the rising debt. Another owner from another company known as Bay Ferries Great Lakes took over the operation and renamed it "The Cat". It wasn't until this year when the ferry service was scrubbed and the boat was now sold to another fast ferry operator - in Europe, by a company known as EuroFerries (http://www.euroferries.co.uk/). Officials there are planning to have service between Dover (England) and Calais/Boulogne (France) this year (tenatively), but so far, no official word yet.

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one of the big reasions the ferry went belly up was us customs not alowing truck traffic on the ferry the other was cats fault (canadian/americian transportation system )

I would argue that lack of marketing was a big reason as well. It's suprising that very few people knew about the ferry service (outisde Toronto), and only now is it on some of MapArt's road maps (too little, too late I suppose).

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The failed Toronto-Rochester fast ferry was known as the Breeze back in 2004, until the previous operator went out of business because of the rising debt. Another owner from another company known as Bay Ferries Great Lakes took over the operation and renamed it "The Cat". It wasn't until this year when the ferry service was scrubbed and the boat was now sold to another fast ferry operator - in Europe, by a company known as EuroFerries (http://www.euroferries.co.uk/). Officials there are planning to have service between Dover (England) and Calais/Boulogne (France) this year (tenatively), but so far, no official word yet.

Ironic we(Canada-US) could'nt make a simple, uncomplicated idea work, for whatever reason and there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides of the border. The europeans and just about eveyone else always seem to be one step ahead in terms of their world class transit systems be they rail, surface, subway and now, yes, even ferry.

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