A Ferry Tale
Rochester / Toronto ferry fee gouges cyclists
compared with rates on other major water routes

Trip across Georgian Bay on Chi-cheemaun (shown here) is more bike friendly than the Lake Ontario crossing but still pricey alongside car rates. (photo - Alan Medcalf)

If you and a cycling buddy want to take your bikes to Rochester on the new ferry service across Lake Ontario from Toronto, the best way to go is to take a car.

Do the math. Cost for a bike and rider is $50.05 each, or $100.10 for two. Cost for a car, driver and one passenger is $104. For just $3.90 you can put the bikes in the car and have secure bike storage while in the ferry line-up and during the crossing.

It's just one more example of that particularly North American notion that a car is the ultimate cycling accessory.

CycleCanada has surveyed fee schedules on major water routes around the world. The Toronto/Rochester route that is planned to begin operations in late spring 2004 cannot be described as bike-friendly.

A solo cyclist pays almost two-thirds the rate charged for a car and driver. For details on rates for this route and other major water crossings, go to Comparative Ferry Charges.

As you will see from the table, ferry fees in North America are stacked against the cyclist when compared with rates charged on routes of similar distances in Europe and New Zealand. Many European ferry services let bikes on free.

. . . Bud Jorgensen

Related development: Toronto-Rochester ferry service gets $8 million grant for Toronto terminal . . . (more)

For a pdf version of this chart visit: Ferry Graph.
For full details on CycleCanada's ferry comparisons visit:
Comparative Ferry Charges

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