What are shuttle sailings?
A shuttle sailing is when a ferry departs as soon as it is full, instead of waiting for a scheduled departure. We change to shuttle sailings on some of our non-bookable routes when there is a large build-up of vehicle or passenger traffic at either terminal on these routes.
After the ferry docks and unloads, customers waiting at the terminal will board straight away. Customers at the less busy terminal may wonder why the ferry is shuttling if they don't see long lines. This is because the other terminal on the route is experiencing heavy traffic.
After traffic clears, sailings change back to the posted sailing schedule. We shuttle an average of 200–300 extra round-trips every year.