Bay Ferries reports ticket sales for the CAT high-speed ferry linking Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia continue to be higher than last year. The company says, through Aug. 10 it has sold 34,542 tickets, 2,864 more than last year at the same time.
But the current, Progressive Conservative government of Nova Scotia continues to move toward an economic study of the service.
It has announced receiving bids from 16 companies to do the study. The province paid Bay Ferries nearly $18 million CAD in subsidy last year.
The economic study is meant to determine if the province is getting value for that subsidy. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said last September that he was disappointed with the ridership numbers that the ferry system reported last summer.
Operator Bay Ferries reported more than 35,000 ticket sales as of Sept. 1, 2022, according to the Canadian Press. The government had set a target of 60,000 passengers per season.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public. BDN writer Leela Stockley contributed to this report.