This new vessel is now Vancouver's largest passenger ferry in False Creek | Daily Hive

This new vessel is now Vancouver's largest miniature passenger ferry operating in False Creek

The new largest miniature passenger ferry boat operating in Vancouver's False Creek. (Jake Pratt)

For decades, the miniature ferries that criss-cross the False Creek waterway, framing the south side of the Downtown Vancouver peninsula, have been a familiar sight — carrying residents and visitors between waterfront destinations.

Now, one local operator has introduced what it says is the largest miniature passenger-only ferry to regularly serve this urban waterway.

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Family-owned Aquabus Ferries has recently added a new vessel to its fleet that can carry up to 48 passengers, making it the largest boat in the company’s 41-year history and the highest-capacity miniature ferry currently operating on False Creek for any ferry company in this inlet.

The new vessel joins a fleet that has steadily evolved to accommodate growing demand and improve accessibility on the water. Aquabus Ferries now operates 10 fully accessible, platform-style, pontoon ferries, including seven vessels that each carry 12 passengers and three that each carry 27 passengers. The newly introduced 48-passenger vessel becomes the largest of them all.

“Our newest vessel is the largest in our fleet, both in size and capacity, accommodating up to 48 passengers,” Jake Pratt with Aquabus Ferries told Daily Hive Urbanized.

But how significant is a boat with a capacity for 48 passengers? For comparison, TransLink’s standard 40-ft-long, two-door buses can each accommodate about 50 passengers on average, including approximately 36 seated passengers and 14 standing passengers.

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The new largest miniature passenger ferry boat operating in Vancouver’s False Creek. (Jake Pratt)

The addition also further widens the capacity gap between Aquabus Ferries and its longtime competitor, False Creek Ferries.

Pratt noted that Aquabus’ existing pontoon boats with a capacity for 27 passengers, which first entered service in 2008, have long exceeded the capacity of the smaller ferries operated by the competing service.

Accessibility has been a major focus for the company over the last two decades. Since 2008, Aquabus Ferries has concentrated on building platform-style pontoon ferries designed to provide barrier-free boarding for a wider range of passengers, particularly people with bicycles, strollers, wheelchairs, and mobility scooters.

The larger vessels have become an increasingly important part of the fleet as False Creek’s waterfront has grown in popularity and residential density, attracting more residents, tourists, and event-goers to destinations such as Granville Island, Olympic Village, Yaletown, David Lam Park, and Science World.

The new largest miniature passenger ferry boat operating in Vancouver’s False Creek. (Jake Pratt)

At the same time, Aquabus Ferries continues to operate seven of its traditional vessels with a capacity for 12 passengers, which share the same design as the traditional boats used for False Creek Ferries.

Those boats have also embraced Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup spirit in a whimsical way. Four of these smaller ferry boats have a special giant installation on the rooftop — a giant adidas Trionda, which is the official match soccer ball of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

While attaching the oversized soccer balls to the company’s larger pontoon ferries proved more difficult, Aquabus Ferries found another way to incorporate the displays.

“The larger vessels proved challenging to strap the soccer balls on the outside of, but we have put four of them inside of the pontoon vessel and passengers have loved taking photos with them while travelling onboard,” he added.

The new largest miniature passenger ferry boat operating in Vancouver’s False Creek. (Jake Pratt)

According to Pratt, whose family owns and operates the company, Aquabus Ferries traces its origins to the early days of False Creek’s passenger ferry services — when False Creek’s post-industrial transformation was in its infancy, beginning with the federal government’s creation of Granville Island’s first arts and cultural attractions and the False Creek South residential neighbourhood.

“Aquabus is a family-owned and operated ferry company that has been serving False Creek for 41 years, but our story actually begins even earlier than that,” Pratt told Daily Hive Urbanized.

His grandfather, George Pratt, was one of the three families who co-founded False Creek Ferries. He says that after some time, George decided to move on. Jake’s dad, Geoff Pratt, launched Aquabus Ferries in 1985.

“To this day, the whole family is still here — Geoff, Margot, Angela, Jennifer, and myself,” he continued.

Both Aquabus Ferries and False Creek Ferries have increased their services during the FIFA World Cup period — beyond their typical summer season frequencies, especially on match days.

Aquabus Ferries has eight stops in False Creek, located as far west as Granville Island and Hornby Street next to the Burrard Street Bridge and as far east as Plaza of Nations and the Olympic Village. False Creek Ferries has nine stops, running as far west as the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vanier Park and Sunset Beach and as far east as the Plaza of Nations and Olympic Village.

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Aquabus Ferries in Vancouver’s False Creek with the FIFA World Cup Trionda soccer ball. (Aquabus Ferries)

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