CBC - June 2, 2015
Marine Atlantic will officially open its new $20-million passenger terminal in North Sydney, N.S., on Wednesday.
It's twice the size of the old terminal and includes a number of new features, including a separate lounge for commercial truckers, complete with showers and a quiet area. There are bright, spacious seating areas and Wi-Fi throughout the building.
"From a customer perspective, it's modern. It has the amenities that our customers expect," said Paul Griffin, Marine Atlantic's CEO. "It's just a wonderful, wonderful day for Marine Atlantic."
The new terminal is also much closer to downtown North Sydney. Instead of dashing across a parking lot and through lines of tractor-trailers, people waiting to board the ferries are now just steps away from local shops and restaurants.
Local merchants had long complained that the thousands of people who travel on Marine Atlantic each year had little interaction with the community.
"People are looking to see what happens this summer, and hopefully we'll have a great weather summer," said Dan Bunbury with the Business Improvement and Development Association in North Sydney.
"There's a lot of buzz about it for sure."
The construction of the new terminal — and removal of the old one — also frees up more space in Marine Atlantic's lot.
Officials hope that puts an end to long lines of trucks waiting alongside nearby highways when the company has to turn away commercial traffic during lengthy weather delays.
The company says it's working hard to improve the service, and says customer satisfaction rates have risen by 20 per cent, to 70 per cent, since 2010.
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