Toronto has just launched a pilot of a new water-transit line, connecting Biidaasige Park, the Yonge Street slip, and Bathurst Quay commons near Billy Bishop airport. All the stops are on the inner harbour.

But when I read more of the details, the project seems doomed to me. First, the boats run hourly. But they don’t say when during that hour they arrive. You could easily get between all three of the stops via regular public transportation during that time.

Second, the boats only hold 12 people. No word on if they take bikes. (Maybe it doesn’t matter; biking between stops would be faster.)

But the biggest mistake is the price — they’ve decided to use water taxis as the benchmark so the fare is $15 per person. That’s nuts — water taxis are always available and take you where you want to go. This is regularly scheduled paid transit. Not the same.

This reminds me so much of when they launched the Union/Pearson train and charged $30 and no one rode it for months. They finally conceded defeat and dropped the fares by 2/3 and now it’s really popular. Maybe they will have to learn the same lesson again.

The only reason for someone to take this service at this price would be to get a boat ride, and there are better options. If you just want to get between the stops, a taxi would be faster and cheaper (especially if there are multiple people in your party)

#Toronto #WaterfrontToronto

https://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/news/charting-new-waters-launching-new-east-west-water-shuttle-pilot

Had no idea it was happening.

Some of it is an hotel which is great to see but if the rest is built with very small condo sizes it will be a hard sell on the current market.

#condos #Toronto #waterfronttoronto https://flipboard.com/@blogto/blogto-8o12e3orz/-/a-5HhICzmsSl6QiZa3qMu3Bg%3Aa%3A3332572087-%2F0

Here's some footage I took the other day for #SilentSunday. Taken down at Toronto Harbour. ❄️

#TorontoHarbour #WaterfrontToronto #Toronto #Winter #Snow #Snowfall