Per an article by Edward D. Murphy in the Portland Press Herald, Bay Ferries Ltd Chairman and CEO Mark MacDonald says he is “very pleased” with how the 2016 season went, and that the service has so far met its first-year financial projections. (Bay Ferries’ fiscal year doesn’t end until March 2017.)
In 2016, the government of Nova Scotia provided CA$9M for refurbishment of The Cat, which Bay Ferries is leasing from the US Navy, along with a CA$10.2M operating subsidy. Bay Ferries expects Nova Scotia to provide an operating subsidy of approximately CA$10-12 for the 2017 season.
Passenger numbers released in July showed an average of 307 pax/day, well below the 500/day needed to meet the 60,000 pax/season goal set by the Province of Nova Scotia for the 2016 season. But NS Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan said at the time that passenger numbers are only “one of the variables” the government is using to evaluate the ferry’s performance. Incremental lodging bednights booked in Nova Scotia via Bay Ferries tour packages is likely the #1 key performance indicator for the Province.
