Yarmouth to Maine ferry prices reposted after removal from website
Round trip price for 2 adults travelling with a vehicle from Nova Scotia in mid-July is $786 US
Bay Ferries has reposted the booking option for the Yarmouth ferry on its website after initially posting, then removing the prices on Monday.
CBC News used the Bay Ferries online booking system to estimate how much it would cost to use the new service between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine.
Based on the information available, two people going on a round trip with their vehicle in mid-July will pay $786 US. A one-way trip with two people and a vehicle is $413 US.
If you're traveling solo with no vehicle in mid-July, the cost will be $194 US for a round trip, while a solo one-way trip with no car will cost $107 US.
As of Monday morning, the Bank of Canada says the Canadian dollar is worth 77 cents US, so a $786 US ticket would actually cost $1,021.41 Cdn.
Fares 'about equal' to last CAT service
Bay Ferries says there are some early booking promotions and Nova Scotia drivers are getting a $100 discount off the vehicle fee for the entire season, except on Fridays and Sundays.
The company said in a statement that the fares include taxes, fees and surcharges, and are "about equal" to those when the CAT ferry service was last offered in 2009.
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Last year, CBC estimated it would cost a a family of four and a pet $1,060 Cdn for a return trip on the Nova Star ferry, mid-week in July.
Confusion over fares
The prices were posted on the Bay Ferries website on Monday morning, but had disappeared by mid-morning. They reappeared — unchanged — in the afternoon.
Mark MacDonald, the president and CEO of Bay Ferries, told CBC News the fares went up earlier than intended.
"When we were testing the internal processes it went live this morning, and it wasn't intended to," he said.
Social media reaction
There has been some negative reaction on social media to the prices being charged by Bay Ferries:
<a href="https://twitter.com/Brett_CBC">@Brett_CBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCNS">@CBCNS</a> Hmm...they don't get ridership on Nova Star and someone thinks raising the price will fix that?
—@IncredulousMarkCBC reporter Jean Laroche noted there were some problems with the online registration system.
Reservation system now very glitchy <a href="https://twitter.com/BayFerries">@BayFerries</a> Not showing departures in June and July. <a href="https://t.co/dlGtM7LVEk">pic.twitter.com/dlGtM7LVEk</a>
—@larochecbcThat drew the ire of some folks.
<a href="https://twitter.com/larochecbc">@larochecbc</a> even the system can't believe the prices!
—@ComstockJL<a href="https://twitter.com/larochecbc">@larochecbc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BayFerries">@BayFerries</a> <br>Let me guess. They need more of our money to get it working?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nspoli?src=hash">#nspoli</a>
—@MJMCK3NNANew operator
Bay Ferries will be running the new service. The ferry it is using was built in 2007 and is owned by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The ship has been chartered 786 by Bay Ferries for two seasons with options for two more.
The new ferry is called The CAT and will travel on a daily schedule between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine. Bay Ferries estimates it will take 5.5 hours to make the crossing, about half the time it would take to drive from Yarmouth to Portland.
The Nova Scotia government is spending more than $32 million over the next two years to support the ferry service.
The ferry is set to start sailing June 15 and run until Sept. 30.