Those looking to skip burgeoning ticket lines for the Toronto Island ferry might have an alternative as early as January.

The city plans to hire a company to build a dedicated website that would sell tickets online, allowing passengers to skip the crowd and go straight through the pre-purchase line.

They hope to have it up and running by the end of this year, said William White, the city’s supervisor of marine services.

The city would then have the rest of the one-year contract to “iron out certain kinks and bugs.”

The contract includes possible extensions for support and maintenance for an additional four years and is valued at $588,908.

The news was met with excitement by ferry users.

Marni Zaretsky, who visits the island “as much as possible,” has recently ponied up extra cash for a water taxi. The new system could mean a return to using the ferries.

“It’s been our go-to option to save time,” she said. “If you’re taking a whole day off and going out to the island, you don’t want to spend half of it in line.”

Charles Bird is familiar with the wait and said delays in line means waiting while an “all but empty ferry” departs.

Approximately 1.25 million people took the ferry in 2012, up from 1.14 million in 2011. There’s been a general increase of 1 per cent to 3 per cent year over year, White said, in keeping with Toronto’s high density, urban population.

But Niraj Adhiya has mixed feelings about a web-based solution, saying the city should be looking at mobile apps. “The resources are out there,” he said.

White couldn’t comment on the possibility of an app, saying the focus right now is on the website.