(November 14, 2004) — Why, with all the outstanding issues, did CATS start the service anyway? The answer, according to many observers, was political and public pressure.

The company originally wanted to launch the service in 2003. It didn't happen. Neither did prior ventures proposed to start in 1992 and 1999.

Having witnessed so many broken promises, the public was rightly skeptical.

So when the vessel arrived at the Port of Rochester at the end of April, there was intense political and public pressure to get under way. The stress was compounded by the fact that the Rochester and Toronto Rotary clubs were using the maiden passenger voyage as a major fundraiser.

"It was as intense an experience as I've ever been through," said Dominick Delucia, founder of the ferry business. "The pressure to close this transaction was nothing short of tremendous."

Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. admitted he leaned on the ferry operators to get started. But, he said, he applied pressure because CATS wasn't open about its problems and he was unaware of upcoming difficulties.

"We learned a lot after the vessel stopped running," he said.