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Representatives of Hoverlink Ontario Inc. said its service is still in the planning stages and it could be three years until its maiden voyage. It’s also up against a track record of similar ventures that have met with failure.Ìý

But Erika Potrz, the company’s president and interim chief operating officer, said the airport agreement is a major step forward for Hoverlink’s vision of a “seamless, accessible, fun and environmentally friendly” ferry link.ÌýÌý

“We fought long and hard for two years to find some place that would accept us and (to) have a home in downtown Toronto. And we finally have one,” she said.Ìý

Neither Hoverlink nor Portsº£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍø— the government authority that oversees the harbour and operates the airport — would disclose financial details of the deal, which they said were commercially sensitive. But they confirmed it’s for a 30-year term.

Hoverlink will be allowed to dock its vessels on a new landing pad connected to Billy Bishop in the harbour’s western gap. Passengers would wait in a covered area next to the air terminal, and get to and from the mainland through the airport tunnel.Ìý

Portsº£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøonly agreed to enter into the deal after Hoverlink conducted “robust” public consultations that included details of the noise and safe operations of the vessels, said Deborah Wilson, the agency’s vice-president of communications and public affairs.Ìý

While Portsº£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøwon’t be directly involved in Hoverlink’s operations, Wilson said the service “will ultimately create a reliable, efficient and sustainable connection” that will improve trade and tourism between º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøand the Niagara Region.Ìý

Hovercraft sound like futuristic technology but they’ve been around for at least five decades, and are employed by the likes of the Canadian Coast Guard. They work by using fans to create a cushion of air beneath their hullÌýwhile a separate propeller provides thrust,Ìýallowing them to glide over water or land.Ìý

Hoverlink has been promoting its plans to use the vessels in cross-lake ferry service for years, and in 2022 said it would launch by 2023. Potrz said the delays since then have been mostly attributable to the difficulty in finding a location for its º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøstop.

Last year the company secured a long-termÌýlease for the Niagara side of its operations, on a spit near the entrance of the Welland Canal.ÌýÌý

Hoverlink, which will publicly discuss its plan at a , is pitching its proposal to move people via the region’s “underutilized” waterways as transformational and sustainable.

Its fleet of two hovercraft have yet to be built, but they would each have capacity for 180 passengers and be able to cross Lake Ontario in 30 minutes, less than half the time it would take to drive the 115-km distance in the best traffic conditions. While capable of up to 48 cross-lake trips per day, Potrz anticipated the company will start service with about half that number of departures.Ìý

The company’s target market is day trippers headed to Niagara for a wine tour or to º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøfor a sports game or concert. Commuters are expected to make up a smaller portion of its customers. The company has previously said it would charge about $60 for a round trip, but Potrz said this week it’s still determining pricing.ÌýÌý

At maximum capacity, the company claims that its biodiesel-powered craft could transport enough people to remove the equivalent of more than 8,000 cars a day from the QEW, which would reduce gridlock, emissions and residents’ travel time. Because the craft float above the water they will also have minimal impact on marine life.

“Not only are we saving the environment, but we’re also saving people’s quality of life,” said Potrz.

Perhaps the company’s secret weapon is the man it describes as “the Michael Jordan of captains,” who it has hired to help oversee its operations. Rob Trussler has more than 25 years’ experience as a hovercraft pilot, and according to Hoverlink CEO and founder Chris Morgan, taught Pierce Brosnan how to drive one of the vessels for a James Bond movie.

Despite having found a home in Toronto, Hoverlink could still face some choppy waters as it tries to make its business plan a reality.

Previous attempts to use Lake Ontario as a means of bypassing the region’s gridlock have bombed. A catamaran ferry service connecting º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøto Rochester, N.Y. folded in 2006 after two seasons, while an earlier venture using hydrofoils shut down after waves stove in the window of one of its vessels while it was carrying the provincial tourism minister.Ìý

Hoverlink’s plan to use the island airport could also face pushback from local residents and lake users, some of whom fiercely opposed previous proposals to expand commercial activity at Billy Bishop, warning of increased noise and traffic impacts.

Potrz said earlier ferry attempts “were marred by poor business planning and craft competency issues,” and Hoverlink has spent years researching how to avoid the same fate.Ìý

She stressed that the company is committed to minimizing any disruption to the waterfront community, which is why it chose a landing point outside of the busy inner harbour.

The company says the commercial hovercraft it plans to use are quiet, its landing pad at the airport will be prefabricated off-site and floated into place to avoid bothersome construction, and there is enough shoreside transit at Billy Bishop toÌýhandle the influx of passengers its ferries will bring.Ìý

Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, whose ward encompasses the airport and surrounding neighbourhoods, called Hoverlink’s proposal “an interesting concept,” but said that it would have to be compatible with other uses of the lake.

“An active, safe, green and accessible waterfront, with strategies that create opportunities for everyone to enjoy Toronto’s harbour are a priority for me. I’m looking forward to learning more about this proposal, how it fits on and along the water, and the ways that local community will be engaged,” Malik (Ward 10, Spadina—Fort York) said in a statement.Ìý