Five new electric ferries are coming to Halifax Transit system
People in the Halifax area are getting new commute options with the introduction of five electric ferries
Five new zero emission electric ferries will now help Nova Scotians navigate from Bedford to downtown Halifax as part of a new mill cove ferry service that will include two new terminals and a maintenance facility.
The province will provide $65 million to the project, with the federal government chipping in $155.7 million, and the Halifax Regional Municipality contributing more than $38 million.
"It’s a really big project," said Patricia Hughes, Director of Planning and Customer Engagement for Halifax Transit.
Hughes says the ball got rolling back in 2020 when the city approved the rapid transit strategy, which included four bus rapid transit routes and three new ferry routes.
"We know people love the Halifax and Dartmouth ferries, and they get a lot of usage, and it kind of changes people's mindset about leaving their cars at home, so we're happy to expand it to another part of the region and start growing that culture of transit use," says Hughes.
Rendering of the new ferry | Communications Nova Scotia
Building resiliency and preparing to meet the city's climate change goals were a big part of the project. The height of the Halifax ferry terminal is being increased with respect to sea level rise.
"We just did a year long ocean study where we actually monitored weather conditions on the harbour for the entire year to see how many days are really that foggy to have an impact and that was all part of contributing to the vessel design," Hughes says.
According to a news release, the project is expected to be completed by the 2027-28 fiscal year.
