The Gatineau dock (with beautiful view of Parliament Hill) for Au feel de l'eau's new environmentally friendly electric aquabus.
A new water taxi service is linking sites along the Ottawa and Gatineau Rivers. Au feel de l’eau operates a pollution-free electric boat that can hold up to 12 passengers, 2 wheelchairs and 4 bicycles.
Until October 9, it departs each morning at 9am from the Casino du Lac-Leamy, and arrives at the Ottawa wharf (located where the Rideau Canal empties into the Ottawa River, near the Bytown Museum) around 10:00am. At 10:15am, it begins to shuttle back and forth between Ottawa and a site on the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River near the Canadian Museum of Civilization until 12:20 when it departs Ottawa for the Casino again.
At 1:30pm, it leaves the Casino and between 2:35 and 6:15pm, it shuttles back-and-forth between Ottawa and Gatineau. The final run from Ottawa to the Casino departs at 6:15pm, arriving at 7:15pm.
If weather conditions permit, the company will continue the Ottawa-Gatineau shuttles for an additional week, until October 16. In 2012, the service will run between May and October.
The cost is $5 per person (tax included) for the Ottawa-Gatineau shuttles and $15 per person for the Ottawa-Casino shuttles.
The company also offers private group bookings.
UPDATE (September 18): Until further notice, the water taxi will operate in the afternoon only!
How about a commuter water taxi up and down the Rideau canal? I can see it now…espresso and croissants on board while you read your complimentary copy of the Financial Times. I’d pay big for that!
I love the idea. I wish we had something like that in Montréal.
Longue vie à Au feel de l’eau!
Montreal already has the “Navette Fluviale” shuttle from the Old Port to Longueuil Marina. I used it once, it was a real time saver. Even that’s not up to Vancouver’s Sea Bus, which sails back and forth between Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, every 15 minutes during the day, as part of the regular transit system.
FABRITEKBOAT is the proud manufacturer of the AQUABUS, we would be delighted to build your dream in Montreal,
Ron Steben, president
Would like to know more about the boat – how it was made and esp. the electric components!
Having just watched the advertisement on the Real Estate Channel on TV, I was so proud of all the wonderful things said about Ottawa, Canada’s Capitol, until they said Casino de lac Leamy, which is in Quebec in Gatineau! No mention of the casino that actually IS in Ottawa, The Slots at Rideau Carleton Raceway. Ottawa is in Ontario, not Quebec! Not long ago I read the line ” Canada’s Capitol, Hull/Ottawa”. Since when?.
Thanks for your comments! We here at Ottawa Tourism promote attractions on both sides of the Ottawa River and in the surrounding countryside as well. We know well that the Casino du Lac-Leamy is in Québec, as is the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau Park, Camp Fortune Aerial Experiences, the former Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train and many other great reasons to visit the area. Most visitors to Ottawa are less concerned with whether an attraction is in Ontario or in Québec, they just want to know what are the unique and memorable things to see and do while they’re here! And Canada’s Capital Region, as defined for example by the National Capital Commission, does indeed incapsulate most of Ottawa and Gatineau (formerly Hull). The capital city is Ottawa but the region crosses the border. Thanks again.