Hoverlink Hovercraft: Toronto to Niagara Falls in 30 Minutes

Somewhere around Grimsby, right as the vineyards start, a guest on my coach asks about the hovercraft from Toronto to Niagara. It has come up nearly every week since the Billy Bishop docking deal was announced, and the questions never change: when can I ride it, and can I use it for this trip? Opening target is 2028. I read the filings so I can answer properly at kilometre 60. Here is what I have confirmed, plus what I tell the guest who needs the falls this week.

What Hoverlink actually is

Hoverlink Ontario is a privately owned Canadian company building the first hovercraft passenger service of its kind in North America, linking Toronto with St. Catharines across Lake Ontario. Founder and CEO Chris Morgan has been developing it for more than 10 years, backed by Canadian investors.

The service will use two Griffon Hoverwork craft, the BHT-130 and BHT-150. Griffon has delivered hovercraft to more than 40 countries, and comparable technology has carried commuters between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight since the 1960s.

Riding on a cushion of air up to 1.8 metres above the surface is the trick: the craft does not care what is underneath it. Ground pressure works out to roughly one-sixteenth that of a human footstep.

The route: Billy Bishop to Port Weller in 30 minutes

The crossing runs from a terminal on the south side of the Western Gap at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Port Weller in St. Catharines, about 40 km of open water, in an estimated 30 minutes. That trades about 110 km of road to St. Catharines for 40 km of open water, and the Toronto end reaches Union Station and the CN Tower through the Billy Bishop pedestrian tunnel.

Port Weller is the detail Niagara visitors need to note. It sits at the north end of the Welland Canal, roughly 30 km from Niagara Falls by road, so the hovercraft lands you inside the Niagara Region with a shuttle connection down to the falls. Shuttle timings are not published yet, but 30 km of road is roughly 40 minutes, so I would pencil in 70 to 80 minutes from Billy Bishop to the falls in 2028. Hoverlink projects taking up to 8,000 vehicles a day off the Queen Elizabeth Way, which anyone who has crawled past Burlington will appreciate.

Toronto hovercraft: both directions

The Toronto hovercraft runs both ways on the same schedule, so Niagara to Toronto is the same 30-minute crossing across 48 daily sailings between 6:45 am and 11:30 pm. For anyone living in St. Catharines, that turns a Jays game or a downtown shift into an ordinary evening instead of a QEW expedition.

Where the Hoverlink project stands in 2026

As of July 2026 the project is working through its technical and regulatory milestones, targeting a start of service in Q1-Q2 2028. Two anchor agreements are signed: a long-term docking agreement with PortsToronto at Billy Bishop, announced in May 2025, and a long-term lease at Port Weller on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Site control on both shores is secured.

City staff set out the operating plan in a City of Toronto staff report dated March 16, 2026: two climate-controlled hovercraft carrying 180 passengers each, 48 crossings a day, and proposed hours of 6:45 am to 11:30 pm. Transport Canada has determined that no Environmental Assessment is required, and Hoverlink projects offshore noise at 60 to 67 decibels.

Hoverlink launch date: what is confirmed

The City’s next steps are all dated. Technical studies are due by January 2027, staff report back in Q2 2027, and public engagement begins in 2027.

Construction is Canadian too. The craft are being designed and roughly 80% built in Canada, with no external engine components or drive systems entering the water. Hoverlink operates under Transport Canada’s air cushion vehicle rules and has to run a safety management system, and pilots are trained to the Marine and Air Cushioned Vehicle standard. Canadian yards building a Canadian transit craft is my favourite detail in the whole file.

Inside the Hoverlink hovercraft

Inside, the cabin is enclosed and climate-controlled, with no outdoor deck, closer to a small regional aircraft than a boat. Both craft cruise at 45 to 55 knots, roughly 80 to 100 km/h. That turns 40 km of Lake Ontario into a 30-minute hop.

No hull carves into the chop, so the ride should feel flatter than a boat at the same speed. Wheelchair accessibility is designed in from the start.

My take: for a full day at the falls I will still want the day sorted end to end. For a bike weekend on the wine route or a Friday night in St. Catharines, a 30-minute crossing changes what a weekend can look like.

What Hoverlink will cost

Hoverlink ticket prices and fare types

Fares are not locked in yet. The comparison published by Hoverlink Ontario shows a round trip in the CA$50 to CA$60 range, with final fares confirmed closer to launch, and the City report states the intent is to stay competitive with GO Transit and private shuttle services.

Planned ticket types cover single-use, multi-trip and student fares, with separate peak and off-peak pricing, and the electric shuttle buses at both terminals are included in the ticket price. The shuttle is the part that matters. It means the headline fare is what you actually pay to reach the region.

Getting from Toronto to Niagara Falls right now

Until the hovercraft opens in 2028, three options make sense for the 130 km each way: the GO train, your own car, or a guided day trip. I run this corridor daily.

GO Transit wins on price. A one-way adult ticket from Union Station to Niagara Falls is CA$21.15, less with a PRESTO card, kids 12 and under ride free, and the trip takes about 2 hours.

Driving buys you control: about 90 minutes each way, closer to 2 hours in rush hour or on a summer weekend. Budget CA$40 to CA$60 in gas and about CA$30 a day for parking near Clifton Hill, or CA$20 to CA$40 near the boat.

Our own guided day trips from Toronto to Niagara Falls take out the driving and the ticket lines. The Niagara Falls Day Tour runs 8:00 am to 5:30 pm from 10 pickup locations across Downtown Toronto and Mississauga, and Package 2 at CA$159 adult includes the skip-the-line Niagara City Cruises (Hornblower) boat ride, a CA$47.95 ticket on its own. A GO return plus that same boat ticket bought on the day closes most of the gap, before you count getting from the station to the falls. For every route side by side, see our guide to getting to Niagara Falls from Toronto.

Hoverlink FAQ

Prices verified July 2026 · Next review scheduled October 2026