Hullo (ferry)
Hullo, officially the Vancouver Island Ferry Company, is a privately owned passenger ferry service in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It operates up to 14 daily sailings between downtown Vancouver and downtown Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Each one-way trip takes around 75 minutes and is served by a catamaran that carries up to 354 seated passengers.
History
The Vancouver Island Ferry Company was founded in 2022 with funding from Conqora Capital Partners and InfraRed Capital Partners. It is the fifth venture to attempt such a ferry service, following the previous service, HarbourLynx, which ceased operations in February 2006.The service was scheduled to begin with a soft launch on August 14, 2023, but was delayed due to power outages in Nanaimo and high winds. Sailings were also cancelled for the following day. The inaugural departure on August 16 was limited to 189 passengers. Only two daily round trips were scheduled for the first weeks of service. By May 2024, Hullo announced it had served 250,000 passengers within its first nine months of service. The company also added late-night sailings for sporting events and concerts in Vancouver.
On its one-year anniversary in August 2024, Hullo announced it had served 400,000 passengers in its first year, or approximately 1,100 people daily., sailings had increased to 3-6 roundtrips per day, and Hullo had plans to introduce a new route between Vancouver and Victoria.