Toronto Island Ferry

Toronto Island Ferry

File:OSM-Toronto Islands with labels.png Labelled map of the Toronto Islands
Locale	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Waterway	Toronto Inner Harbour (Lake Ontario)
Transit type	Ferry
Operator	Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division PortsToronto (Toronto Port Authority)
Began operation	1883
System length	City Docks to Centre - 2km City Docks to Hanlan's - 2km City Docks to Ward's - 1.7 km Western Gap - 190m
No. of lines	4
No. of vessels	8
No. of terminals	6
Daily ridership	75,000

The Toronto Island Ferry connects the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario to the mainland of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The ferry provides access to the islands for recreational visitors and access to the mainland for island residents from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, and access to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport from the airport dock, which is located at the western end of the island chain.

Services

The privately owned Hiawatha (1900) and Kwasind (1912) take members to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.

There are four public ferry services to the islands. Three of these ferry services are operated by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the City of Toronto, and provide links for passengers and service vehicles from a dock at the foot of Bay Street on the central Toronto waterfront to docks at Hanlan's Point, Centre Island Park and Ward's Island on the Toronto Islands. Service frequencies vary by time of year, with a two round trips an hour on each route in summer, but fewer sailings on fewer routes in winter.

The fourth public ferry service is operated by the PortsToronto and provides a vehicle and passenger connection from a dock at the foot of Bathurst Street to the island airport. The ferry makes the round trip across the 121 metres (397 ft) channel every 15 minutes during airport operating hours. There is no public access between the airport and the rest of the island chain.

Beside the public ferry services, several yacht clubs and marinas located on the islands provide private ferry services for their members and guests.

History

The first ferry to cross Toronto Harbour to what are now the Toronto Islands was in 1833, using a boat called Sir John of the Peninsular and operated by Michael O'Connor. At the time, the "islands" were still a peninsula, connected to the mainland at their eastern end. Other ferries soon followed, including both the Toronto, a steamboat, and the Peninsular Packet, which was propelled by paddle wheels driven by a horse. A storm in 1858 split the islands from the mainland, and increased the need for ferries.

Throughout the rest of the 19th century ferries proliferated, with most being paddle steamers operated by individual owners. Eventually two competing ferry companies came into being: the Turner Ferry Company and A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company. The assets of the Turner Ferry Company were bought by the John Doty Engine & Ferry Company, which in turn merged with A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company in 1892 to form the Toronto Ferry Company.

In 1906 and 1910, the Toronto Ferry Company built two double-decked, double-ended paddle steamers, with a capacity of 1450 passengers. They were named Bluebell and Trillium. They were retired in 1955 and 1957 respectively, but Trillium survived and re-entered service in 1976. It is operated by the Great Lakes Schooner Company for corporate and private functions, and for ferry runs throughout the summer. It is now 100 years old.

The Toronto Ferry Company continued to operate the ferry services until 1926, when it's services and fleet was purchased by the City of Toronto and transferred to the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC, later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission), the body that operates the city's transit system. The three double-ended, diesel-engined and screw-driven ferries that form the backbone of today's service to the islands were built for the TTC. The William Inglis was built in 1935, the Sam McBride in 1939, and the Thomas Rennie in 1951.

In 1938 the Toronto Harbour Commission began operating a ferry service to the new Toronto Island Airport, then under construction. A scow was adapted for use as a cable ferry, with the intention that this ferry would operate for a five-year period. However the scow remained in service for 25 years before being replaced by the ferry Maple City. The backup ferry Windmill Point was acquired in 1985 and a new replacement ferry, TCCA1, in 2006.

In 1961 the ferry services operated by the TTC were transferred to Metro Toronto Parks and Culture, a department of the then Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. In 1997 the metropolitan municipality was merged with its member municipalities, becoming the enlarged City of Toronto, and the park ferry services became the responsibility of city's Department of Parks and Recreation. In 2005 responsibility for these services was transferred to the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, where it remains. The airport ferry remains the responsibility of the PortsToronto.

Fleet

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  Toronto Island ferry Sam McBride

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  Toronto Island ferry Thomas Rennie

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  The paddle ferry Trillium shares the harbour with a sailing ship

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  Thomas Rennie in service

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  Maple City, an airport ferry now used in reserve for TCCA1

• The Ongiara is bound for the City Docks.jpg

  The Ongiara in service

List of ferries

Vessel	BuilderA	OperatorB	Acquired	Retired	Capacity	TypeC	Notes
Luella	WAC, JDE	TuF, TFC, TTC	1880	1934	122 passengers	SESD paddle steamer	Accidentally scrapped 1934.
Mayflower	BSW	JDE, TFC, TTC	1890	1938	900–1,000 passengers	DEDD paddle steamer	After retirement converted into a barge. Sister ship to Primrose.
Primrose	BSW	JDE, TFC, TTC	1890	1938	900–1,000 passengers	DEDD paddle steamer	After retirement converted into a barge. Sister ship to Mayflower.
Ned Hanlan	TDC	TFC, TTC, MPR	1902	1966		Harbour tug	Rebuilt in 1932. Used to provide winter ferry service for island residents. Named for local rowing legend Ned Hanlan, brother-in-law of Lawrence Solman, owner of the Toronto Ferry Company. Now displayed beside Stanley Barracks at the Canadian National Exhibition.
Bluebell	PIW	TFC, TTC	1906	1955	1,450 passengers	DEDD paddle steamer	Retired 1955 and stripped down and stored next to Island Water Filtration Plant in 1976, hull used as breakwall at Tommy Thompson Park near the Eastern Gap. Sister ship of Trillium.
Trillium	PIW	TFC, TTC, MPC, TPR	1910	(1957), active	Originally 1,450; reduced to 955	DEDD paddle steamer	Sister ship to the Bluebell. Retired in 1957 and used by Metro Toronto Works Department as a garbage scow (barge), but re-entered service in 1976 after being refurbished. Sister ship of Bluebell.
Miss York		TFC, TTC	1918	1929			Burned 1929?
Miss Simcoe		TFC, TTC	1918	1929			Possibly named for Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe. Burned 1929.
Clark Bros.		TFC, TTC	1890	1927			Named for Tom (T.J.) Clark; burned in 1930 at Sunnyside Park.
John Hanlan	Abbey	TFC, TTC	1918	1927			Named for Toronto Island hotel keeper John Hanlan, father of Ned Hanlan and father-in-law of Lawrence Solman, owner of the Toronto Ferry Company; burned 1929.
T.J. Clark	CL & PIW	TFC, TTC, MPR	1911	1930		Wooden screw ferry	Named for Tom "T.J." Clark, co-operator of wooden screw ferry that began service in 1890. Operated as ferry from 1911 to 1927; sold to City of Toronto and operated by the TTC. Decommissioned 1959 and sold to Toronto Drydock Company Ltd.; scrapped by 1961.
Aylmer		TFC, TTC	1918	1929
Buttercup		TFC, TTC	1918	1929
Jasmine		TFC, TTC	1918	1929			Renamed Ojiboway. Burned 1929.
William Inglis	TDC & JIC	TTC, MPC, TPR	1935	active	400 passengers	DEDD diesel screw	Named after William Inglis, head of local appliance manufacturer John Inglis and Sons.
Sam McBride	TDC & JIC	TTC, MPC, TPR	1939	active	1,000 passengers - reduced to 524 and then to 736 due to upgrades to bulkhead and engines in 2011	DEDD diesel screw	Named after former Toronto Mayor and alderman Sam McBride.
Thomas Rennie	TDC & JIC	TTC, MPC, TPR	1951	active	1,000 passengers - reduced to 524 and then to 736 due to upgrades to bulkhead and engines in 2011	DEDD diesel screw	Named after former Toronto Harbour Commissioner Thomas Rennie.
Ongiara	RB	TTC, MPC, TPR	1960	active	220 passengers, 10 cars or 8 trucks	DESD diesel screw	Used to provide winter service and to carry service vehicles. Repowered in November 2006.
Maple City		TPA/PT	1964	active	40 passengers and 6 cars	DESD diesel screw	Operates to the island airport. Built 1951 by Muir Brothers Dock Yard for Prescott-Ogdensburg ferry service.
Windmill Point	KS	TPA/PT	1954	active	207 passengers	DESD diesel	Based in Amherstburg, Ontario, it operates to the island airport when Maple City is out of service. Purchased by the Toronto Harbour Commission in 1985 and stored at Keating Channel when not in service.
David Hornell , formerly TCCA1	HMP	TPA/PT	2006	active		DEDD diesel	Operates to the island airport. Original name was an acronym of Toronto City Centre Airport 1.
Marilyn Bell 1, formerly TCCA2	HMP	TPA/PT	2009	active			Operates to the island airport. Original name was an acronym of Toronto City Centre Airport 2.

In popular culture

Allan Moak’s children’s book A Big City ABC prominently displays an illustration of the Toronto Island Ferry, Sam McBride on its cover. It was also featured as "Flo and Merriweather" in Mighty Machines.

Return fares

Adult	$7.00	Adult Monthly Pass	$90.00
Student/Senior (under 19 with a student card and over 65)	$4.50	Senior/Student Monthly Pass	$67.00
Junior (under 14)	$3.50	Junior Monthly Pass	$46.00
Small Vehicle	$100.00	Large Vehicle	$125.00

Fee schedule for airport ferry service:

Vehicles (excludes emergency services)	$11.00
Pedestrians	free

Docks

Ferry landing at Hanlan's Point in 1908.

Ward's Island Docks

TCCA1, the current airport ferry, at the airport dock

With the exception of the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, no other docks are enclosed and consist merely of a series of metal fences and ramps.

Jack Layton Ferry Terminal

Main article: Jack Layton Ferry Terminal

The Jack Layton Ferry Terminal is located at the foot of Bay Street on the mainland and consists of four piers. They are located in the enclosed main docks, and the last pier is an open area to the east for the larger Trillium ferry boat. Toronto Fire Services fireboat William Lyon Mackenzie shares the dock spaces. During winter months the ferries (other than Trillium) are stored here with upper decks covered with a tarp. Trillium is stored at nearby Yonge Street Slip. The docks were once home the fireboat William Lyon Mackenzie. The original docks were located on the east side of the THC Building at Bay and Harbour Streets. When the infilling took place after 1918 the docks moved to Queen's Quay West of Bay Street (now site of Harbour Square condos) before being moved to the east to the current location. The Toronto City Council voted unanimously to rename the terminal in honour of late New Democratic Party leader and former Toronto City Councillor Jack Layton.

Hanlan's Point Docks

Hanlan's Point Dock is located to the west next to the island airport; open boarding area consists of three piers. There are washrooms and a snack bar nearby. The tugboat Ned Hanlon is located nearby. Hanlan's Point used to be called Gibraltar Point, and from 1794 to 1813 it was home to a British Army fortification or battery (storehouses and guardhouse), then a blockhouse from 1814 to 1823.

Centre Island Docks

Centre Island Docks is on Island Park and consists of two piers. There are washrooms, a Shopsy's deli and a Pizza Pizza nearby. There is no winter service from this dock. Newly covered area was added to provide additional shelter space.

Ward's Island Docks

Ward's Island Docks is on Ward's Island to the east; an open boarding area consists of a single pier.

Airport Ferry

The Western Gap is at the foot of Bathurst Street and consists of a single pier. Parking is available for cars not crossing to the Island. The Island Airport Dock is at the north end of the island airport and consists of a single pier and a loading ramp. These two docks are used by the Toronto Port Authority.

See also

• Toronto Ferry Company
• Bay Ferries Great Lakes Limited
• Toronto water taxis
• Hiawatha (ship, 1895)
• Kwasind