A company looking to launch a hovercraft service between Toronto and the Niagara Region says it has cleared a major hurdle in getting the transportation service up and running.
A new deal with Ports Toronto will see Hoverlink depart from Billy Bishop Airport to a soon-to-be-built facility in Port Weller, St. Catharines.
“With its Niagara site already shovel-ready, this milestone clears a major hurdle for launching North America’s first large-scale hovercraft transit route,” company officials said in a press release on Thursday.
The company says the high-speed service can carry up to 180 passengers between Toronto and Niagara in just 30 minutes, less than half the time it would take to drive even in the best traffic conditions. And the company adds it can operate “regardless of weather or season.”
“Built on proven amphibious technology used by militaries and coast guards, Hoverlink’s crafts are engineered to glide quietly across water, ice, or land with minimal environmental impact,” the release states.
“This new mode of transportation is projected to remove 8,000 cars from the QEW per day, when operating a full capacity.”
The idea of using Lake Ontario as a transportation route is nothing new, however, past ventures have not fared as well. A ferry service to Rochester, New York, closed down after two years in 2006.
Hoverlink had announced plans to launch the service in the summer of 2023 before electing to delay its debut due to “the complexities involved in this project.” At the time, the plan was to use Ontario Place as the Toronto launch site.
Ports Toronto, which says the deal with the Hoverlink is for 30 years, says it believes there is enough demand for this new service to succeed, along with the opportunity to reduce traffic and congestion.
“It’s not necessarily a giant gamble,” Hoverlink president Erika Potrz tells CityNews, adding their service will appeal to both tourists and commuters. “When you’ve had 10 years to plan, when you’ve had significant years of planning, it’s not a gamble any longer.”
Just how much the service will cost has yet to be announced, but Hoverlink says it will be competitive with the cost of driving and parking.
An exact start date is also unknown, as the infrastructure and hovercrafts themselves have yet to be built.
