Hovercraft service between Toronto and Niagara Region now closer to reality

Hoverlink interim COO Erika Potrz discusses the ‘significant milestone’ crossed in order to provide transportation between Toronto and Niagara Falls.

A hovercraft company that claims it can transport passengers from Toronto to Niagara Region in 30 minutes has announced it’s closer to launch after cruising past a “key milestone.”

In a news release, Hoverlink Ontario Inc. says following three years of consultation, it’s finalized an agreement to secure a landing in the western gap of the Toronto Harbour.

“With its Niagara site already shovel-ready, this milestone clears a major hurdle for launching North America’s first large-scale hovercraft transit route,” the company said in a news release.

Each of the company’s two yet-to-be-built hovercraft can carry up to 180 passengers across Lake Ontario at any given time “regardless of weather or season.”

Hoverlink says it could make as many as 48 trips daily, which it estimates would result in 8,000 fewer cars a day on the Queen Elizabeth Way when running at full capacity.

Currently, the 120-km trip from Toronto to Niagara Region takes more than an hour-and-a-half by car without traffic.

“With the capacity to serve more than three million passengers per year, the service will provide a direct link between two of Ontario’s most significant economic and tourist regions,” the company said.

It’s unclear how much a one-way ticket would cost, but Hoverlink president Erika Potrz told CTV News Toronto the company is evaluating pricing plans for tourism operators, commuters and families.

“We intend to ensure it is comparable to other modes of transportation such as the cost of running a car and or parking,” she said.

Hoverlink made waves in 2022 when it announced plans to start service in the summer of 2023. However, Potrz said the company later determined that departing from the initial Toronto launch site, Ontario Place, was “not conducive” to their timelines.

“Ultimately, our current location was chosen as it avoided the inner harbor congestion and it provided passengers easy access to existing transit options,” she said.

Hoverlink did not say when it plans to begin service between Toronto and its Niagara site in Port Weller, St. Catharines.

Hovercraft technology has been around for decades and the Canadian Coast Guard has vehicles in its fleet for rescue and icebreaking missions. The vessels use powerful fans to push air underneath the hull into an air cushion as additional fans and propellers move the craft forward.

The company said its hovercraft can travel across water, ice or land with minimal environmental impact and run quieter than a dishwasher.