ENGLISHTOWN, N.S. -- The Englishtown ferry in Cape Breton is back after being out of commission for nearly six months.

"It’s been a long time coming," said the area's councillor, Merrill MacInnis. "It’s pretty well six months to the day. They told us mid-December last year that it would be back within four to six weeks and here we are -- six months later."

For now, the ride is free to prevent cash from changing hands, but there are concerns about long lineups this summer because the ferry will only be taking six cars at a time because of COVID-19 restrictions.

That has residents once again calling for a bridge to replace what they say is an unreliable ferry service.

MacInnis says it's good news for now to have the ferry back, but with long lineups expected this summer, and the ferry only travelling half-full, it further underscores the need for a bridge.

"You have no idea how frustrating it is," MacInnis said. "It’s just unbelievable how frustrating it is.  We’ve been promised this. It’s been an election ploy for I don’t know how many decades."

Moe Lieff runs a fish and chip truck near the ferry.

"It's been a pain in the butt, but it's back now," Lieff said.

He says he, too, hears the calls for a bridge, but doesn't know if it would bring him any more business.

"I've heard bridge, I've heard tunnel, I've heard all kinds of things," he said. "I don't know. We'll have to see down the road when that's going to happen.  But I don't think that's going to happen too soon."

A spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal says a feasibility study was completed a few years ago about replacing the ferry with a bridge and the study determined it would cost upwards of $45 million.

While a bridge in Englishtown is not in the province's capital program, some wonder if it would be more cost-effective over the long term.

"Even if we had year-round ferry service, that would be a plus," said MacInnis.

For now, many are simply happy to have the link back in time for what's expected to be the most difficult tourist season in years along the Cabot Trail.