 Dartmouth-Halifax Harbour Ferries
Why fight traffic on the bridges when you can park at one of our Park & Ride locations and hop on the ferry? In only 12 minutes, you will be at the other side of the Halifax Harbour.
Our Ferries operate on two routes between terminals in downtown Halifax and Dartmouth.
The ferry service is fully accessible, is integrated with the bus and Access-A-Bus systems, carries up to 395 passengers, and has adjacent Park & Ride lots.
Service Disruption
Posted Ocotber 29, 2009
Alderney Ferry Resumes Regular Service Schedule Monday, November 2
Beginning Monday, November 2, 2009, the Alderney Ferry Service will resume its regular service schedule.
The Alderney ferry will leave the Dartmouth Terminal at its regular scheduled time of 6:30am, with 15 minute service until 9am.
Metro Transit would like to thank its passengers for their patience during this scheduled maintenance.
Posted September 10, 2009
Alderney Ferry Reduced to ½ hour Frequency Beginning September 14, 2009
Beginning Monday, September 14, 2009, the Alderney ferry service will be temporarily reduced to one vessel and will operate on 1/2 hour frequency.
The Alderney ferry will leave the Dartmouth Terminal at its regular scheduled time of 6:30 am, with crossings every ½ hour. The Halifax ferry will leave the Halifax Terminal at its regular scheduled time of 6:45 am, with ½ hour crossings on the quarter hour.
It is anticipated that the vessel will remain out of service for several weeks, due to scheduled maintenance as required by Transport Canada.
The Woodside Ferry will continue operation of its regular schedule.
For additional information, contact the HRM Call Centre at 490-4000.
Ferry History
The harbour ferry service and its recognizable ferry vessels are a distinctive feature of the historic Halifax Harbour. The three ferries, christened the Dartmouth III, the Halifax III and the Woodside I, constantly criss-cross the second largest harbour in the world and have become one of the modern day icons of our region.
The ferry service also provides an important symbolic link with our community's past. In 2002, the Halifax Harbour ferry service celebrated its 250th anniversary, and it is the oldest, continuous, salt-water passenger ferry service in North America.
The "Dartmouth ferry" as it was originally known, began operation in 1752 and served as a vital link for the community of Dartmouth, which was settled a year after the larger British Military Garrison was established in Halifax. With vast farmland, woods and freshwater lakes, the Dartmouth settlers provided the Halifax garrison town with food products and ice for the many icehouses, which were used to keep food fresh. The Dartmouth ferry continued to serve as the only quick way of travelling across the harbour to Halifax until 1955, when the Angus L.Macdonald Bridge was first opened.
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Did you know...
... The original ferry vessel used was a large rowboat with a sail
... At one time, the ferry was operated using horses to power a wheel
... Even vehicles were once transported across the harbour by ferry ... In 1839, the Hon. Samuel Cunard was president of the Steam Boat Company, operators of the ferry service at the time. It was in that same year that Cunard secured his contract with the British Government for conveyance of the mail across the ocean by steam vessel, marking the beginnings of the famous Cunard Steamship Lines. |
Today, the harbour ferry service is part of Halifax's regional transportation system, operated by Metro Transit and fully integrated with the bus system. The service was taken over by the regional transit system from the former city of Dartmouth in 1994. HRM's Metro Transit system has the distinction of being one of only two public transit systems in the country to operate passenger ferries. The other is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The ferry is treasured by tourists, as a quick, easy, economical way to view our communities from the water, and by its 3000 loyal daily commuters, who value the experience of travelling to work year round by the scenic and convenient ferryboat.
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