Ferries
The principal ferry service to the Toronto Islands is provided by the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation division. Ferries run year-round from the Toronto Ferry Docks at the foot of Bay Street to Hanlan's Point, Centre Island, and Ward's Island.
A high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry service across Lake Ontario to Rochester, New York was launched on June 17, 2004, using the vessel Spirit of Ontario I under the marketing term "The Breeze". After experiencing a financing-caused service interruption, it returned to service June 30, 2005, under the ownership of the City of Rochester and operated by Bay Ferries Great Lakes Limited, using the marketing term "The Cat". After an unprofitable summer of operation mostly due to delays, and despite adequate ridership, the newly elected Mayor of Rochester announced on January 10, 2006, that the service would be discontinued and the City would sell the ship, which was purchased by UK-based Euroferries Ltd, for service across the English Channel. It was finally sold in April 2007 to the German company FRS for a ferry service between Spain and Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Spirit of Ontario I was renamed HSC Tanger Jet II and later as HSC Dolphin Jet, crossing the Kattegat between Aarhus and Kalundborg in Denmark.
The International Marine Passenger Terminal at 8 Unwin Avenue in the Port Lands, built to accommodate multiple visits per day by The Breeze, is currently only used a couple of times a year to accommodate visiting cruise ships.
The Toronto Ferry Company's private ferry operation was taken over by the Toronto Transit Commission in 1927. The Royal Canadian Yacht Club has operated its two private ferries, the Hiawatha and Kwasind, for over one hundred years.
The city also operates a ferry service to take passengers to and from the Billy Bishop Island Airport with its terminal at the foot of Bathurst Street.
Read more about this topic: Transportation In Toronto