15,000 tickets sold for CAT ferry, consistent with pre-pandemic levels: Bay Ferries

The company that operates the CAT ferry, which sails between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbor, Maine, says ticket sales for the 2022 operating season are consistent with pre-pandemic levels.

In a news release, Bay Ferries Limited says it has sold over 15,000 passenger tickets, which was typical for this time of year before the pandemic.

The ferry set sail for the first time in three years on May 19. The ferry had sat idle due to a lack of a terminal in Bar Harbor in 2019, followed by two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nova Scotia taxpayers have paid millions of dollars for the vessel, even while it wasn’t in service. The CAT has an operating budget of about $17 million this year. Nova Scotia’s contract with Bay Ferries runs until 2026.

The company says 65 per cent of passengers travel on the ferry in July and August, so it's confident ticket sales will grow over the summer. Bay Ferries says a projection on overall annual traffic will be developed by late July or August.

Bay Ferries notes a number of factors, such as fuel prices and inflation, vaccine requirements, and continued recovery from the pandemic, could also affect sales.

As of Tuesday, the ferry had completed 12 round trips with no cancellations.

Early this season, the CAT will run four days a week. It will begin daily crossings on June 24 and continue daily runs until its final sail on Oct. 10.

Bay Ferries says monthly updates on the status of the ferry will be provided each month moving forward.