Long before the first buses start running, a fleet of small wooden ferries is already crossing the river, carrying the first wave of tens of thousands of daily commuters to the other bank.
The crossing takes only a few minutes but serves as the backbone of the daily commute for entire neighbourhoods on both sides, many of whose residents work in markets and factories they’d otherwise struggle to reach quickly.
“I’ve made this crossing every morning for almost twenty years,” said one longtime ferry operator. “The boats change, the passengers change, but the river doesn’t care about any of that.”
Operators say demand has held steady even as a new bridge nears completion nearby, with many passengers citing cost and convenience over the longer road route the bridge will offer.
Local transport officials say they expect ferry traffic to decline gradually once the bridge opens, but do not anticipate the service disappearing entirely, given how deeply it’s woven into the daily routines of the riverside neighbourhoods.
