CAT ferry keeping pace with pre-pandemic sales

Under the Ferry Operations Agreement between Nova Scotia and the company, dated April 1, 2018, it says the management fee for operating the service is $97,500 per month, totalling$1.17 million annually.

The CAT ferry, which sails between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbour, Maine, has sold more than 20,000 tickets so far this year, up from the 15,100 tickets sold as of June 7.

According to Bay Ferries Limited, the company that operates the CAT ferry, ticket sales remain in line with pre-pandemic numbers at this point in the sailing season.

The ferry is expected to welcome 65 per cent of their total passengers for the season during the months of July and August. Bay Ferries estimates there will be between 39,000 and 46,000 total passengers over the course of the 2022 season. However, that number could be impacted by high fuel prices and record inflation rates as well as further COVID-19 variants and international vaccine requirements.

As of June 30, the ferry has completed 26 rounds trips, welcoming a total of 5,569 passengers and 2,468 vehicles. Two additional trips were cancelled due to weather-related concerns. The ferry began daily crossings on June 24, after running on a schedule of four days per-week. Daily crossings will continue until the season’s final sail on Oct. 10.

2022 marks the first year the ferry has operated since 2018, due to the absence of a terminal in Bar Harbour and two subsequent years of pandemic restrictions on international travel.

Bay Ferries continues to manage and operate the ferry service, as per the ten-year agreement between the company and the Nova Scotia government in 2018. The latest monthly numbers from Bay Ferries comes after the company rejected a request from the Nova Scotia government to provide daily updates on its website.