Water taxi linking Pointe-aux-Trembles to Old Port launches for season

Heading downtown fromPointe-aux-Trembles and worried about congested roads? Try the river route instead.

A water-taxi service onthe St. Lawrence River, connecting the east-end borough tothe Old Port, launchedSunday morning.

Last year,4,604 riders took advantage of the service during a five-day pilot project. Thatpromptedthe borough, in association with its partners, to launch a seasonal service that will runfrom now until mid-September.

The trip takes22 minutes by boat, as opposed to about an hour by car during rush hour.

Pedestrians will pay $3.50 for the trip, while those with a bicycle will pay $4.50. The shuttle will run every 30 minutes during rush hour and every 60 minutes throughout the day.

You can hop on at 2Saint-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard in Pointe-aux-Trembles and disembark at the Old Port, at the Jacques-Cartier Pier.

Looking forward to new ferry

Pointe-aux-Trembles resident Sonia Melanontested out the water-taxi service last summer.

"I really liked it," she told CBC News. "What I loved the most was, on the boat, you feel like you're almost on vacation."

"It's sort of freeing to be on a boat, your hair flying in the air. It's very fun."

Public transit, she says, can take up to two hours as there is no direct link between her home and her workin Pointe-Saint-Charles.

She takes her bike on the ferry, and including 15 minutes of cycling to get to and from the launch, her total commute time is only a little more thanhalf an hour, she said.

The extradollar it costs to takeher bike onthe new ferry system is worth it, said Melanon.

"It takes away all the stress of being in the traffic and the congestion and driving your car," she said. "Also,it's nice to keep in shape with a little bike commute."

The new ferry is operated byQuebec's provincial ferry service (STQ), and the fares are not transferable to Montreal's public transit system, the STM.

Authorities are looking into ways of making the boataccessible to those with reduced mobility.