Skip the line: New app lets Toronto ferry riders buy tickets
Posted July 29, 2016 1:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The City of Toronto is hoping to speed things up at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal with a new way for passengers to buy tickets.
The city has teamed up for a pilot project with the mobile app Ritual, in an effort to increase the number of people buying online.
The move comes in response to several complaints about long lineups at the terminal to purchase tickets for the ferry to Centre Island.
People can already buy a ticket online, in order to avoid the long lineups at the ticket kiosks, but starting Saturday they can now also do so via the app.
“Ritual itself is a great Toronto success story, and we’re anxious to promote those and to help those companies to flourish here,” Mayor John Tory said at a news conference on Friday.
Tory said the app will go through a trial period for August, for now. The city hopes the app will increase the number of passengers purchasing tickets online for the month.
Ferry riders can print the tickets at home or just show the ticket on their smartphones at the terminal gates. There will be one dedicated kiosk at the terminal for pre-purchased tickets.
There will also be staff on hand and improved signage to help people find the appropriate gate.
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The online option was introduced earlier this year, but is currently only used for around 25 per cent of ferry ticket sales.
Last year, the ferries transported 1.3 million passengers to the Toronto Island. However, that number is expected to increase by as much as 15 per cent this year.
Waterfront Parks manager James Dann told CityNews last week ridership on the ferries has been steadily increasing over the last three years.
The current ferries transport around 800 passengers, and Dann said wait times have been as long as two hours on busy weekends. In the summer, ferries leave every 15 minutes. That equals up to 5,000 people an hour on some days.
The city is also looking to buy new ferries, which could be in service by 2018.