Larry's Corner

Hovercraft Services For Hamilton?

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted April 9, 2008)

One of the things we like to boast about in the city of Hamilton is our strategic location at the head of Lake Ontario. We are equidistant between Toronto, Canada’s economic engine, and the U.S. border with its large population base just minutes from our city. We also boast about our multi-modal transportation system.

Our airport is a leading cargo transport destination as well as an increasingly important passenger venue. It has been a huge success story for Hamilton since TradePort took it over; and the investment has recently been bolstered by the involvement of Citi Group. Once the airport lands are given clearance to create employment there, it will be even better for the community. Our road system has improved tremendously since the new Red Hill Valley Parkway opened up just a few months ago. This roadway has taken trucks and cars off residential routes. It has also spurred major investments at the Center Mall and Eastgate Square, and the corner of Barton and Woodward where Lowes is situated. Greater economic investment will come with the servicing of the Glanbrook Industrial Park which is currently underway. Hamiltonians are justifiably happy about these roadway improvements, as I hear on a daily basis. Recently, as well, we have been hearing of some improvements in rail travel with both GO and VIA coming into the city. This is also very positive. And we have a waterway system that is a busy one for our city and the Great Lakes. We have it all: air, rail, road and water.

One could make the case, however, that our Port Authority is being successful on the commercial end of the water system, but is doing poorly in using this resource to transport goods and people along the lake. To this end, a Toronto newspaper carried a hovercraft story in today’s edition. It states, in part:

Hover Transit Services, which proposes to use a Hovercraft that once plied the cross-channel route between England and France, was the only bidder for the right to operate the cross-lake service in a public bidding process that closed at the end of March.

The attempt to revive the ferry service is being spearheaded by the City of Rochester, N.Y., and the Toronto Port Authority, which last month asked companies interested in reviving the service to express an interest in doing so.

This story reminded me of an approach made to me, as Mayor, by a similar operator interested in starting up a hovercraft service between Hamilton and Toronto. I was excited by the idea. I can’t now recall whether it was the same group that is pitching the Toronto plan, but the details sound familiar. At the time, I set up a meeting with the Hamilton Port Authority administration and discovered their interest in the notion as well. In fact, the Port was advocating a HighwayH2O proposal to use the water system as a greener way to transport goods as well as people. Their intended link was with Oshweken, New York and last I heard progress was being made.

The Port has had a change in administrative leadership, as has had the city. I know our Mayor, as a former Chair of the Port, will be interested in pursuing this idea and perhaps linking with the Toronto-Rochester partnership. In this case, if one were to include Hamilton in the intended route, three would definitely not be a crowd, but good economic partners in every sense of the word.

Apparently, the Toronto to Rochester fare would be about $30 per passenger and the 88 nautical mile trip would take about one hour and fifteen minutes. Even on good days a trip between Toronto and Hamilton using our over-clogged highway takes more or less the same time. Imagine if we were to have the improvements to rail and water to add to our road options. This community would certainly be firing on all cylinders, to use an anachronistic car-based analogy. Better to say that the city would be using to their maximum potential all ‘modals’!

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