BC Ferries has announced changes to its vehicle policies between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay.
Starting this fall, the drive-up fare options will no longer be available for travellers with vehicles.
The only way to board the ferry will be through the pre-booking option.
This change will apply to one direction only, from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay.
BC Ferries recommends passengers pre-book their return trips from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay as well. However, it will not be required. Foot passengers do not need reservations and can travel in either direction as usual.
Emergency responders and passengers with Medical Assured Loading will still have access to a designated area on the vessel deck.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog tells 1130 NewsRadio that the changes will prove “frustrating” for Vancouver Islanders.
“We don’t know how long we’ll get stuck in Vancouver for medical appointments. We don’t know how we’re going to get to the terminal, whether we’ll be on time for a reservation, if we’re coming from the Interior. It complicates things,” Krog explained.
But there will be one positive — Hullo Ferries will see an uptick in riders, the mayor believes.
“Particularly if you don’t have a vehicle, but if you’ve got a vehicle, I hope this doesn’t turn into some kind of cash grab, which is how many Islanders might well perceive it,” Krog said.
He explains that Vancouver Island residents are often told of long waits and the need for reservations, but when they arrive at the terminal, they discover that reservations weren’t necessary and there’s space on a vessel.
“In fairness, most other ferry systems around the world have a pre-booking arrangement, and you get a break. If you book and pay early, and you arrive late, you pay more. That might be a system that BC Ferries would want to consider, as opposed to charging up front for a reservation. And if you don’t make it, tough luck, you lose your money,” Krog said.
BC Ferries also announced other changes to its ferry schedules. Among others, the transportation company says that it increased the capacity on the Queen of Capilano. The vessel can now load up to 600 passengers, 150 people more than before. This change will come into effect mid-May.
Additionally, BC Ferries will be adding more options for passengers travelling between the Lower Mainland and Nanaimo. There will be an additional sailing at 4:30 p.m. between Tsawwassen and Duke Point starting June 19.
Krog calls BC Ferries Vancouver Islanders’ “lifeline.”
“It is our highway, as I have said, and other politicians before me have said for decades, it’s our highway and it’s important, and it needs to be efficient and effective,” he said.
“I understand this is a response, I suspect, to the lack of serviceable vessels, many of which have been breaking down with alarming regularity over the last two years, causing chaos over here,” he added.
“But I guess we’d rather see more efficient ferries and not have to move to a system that requires us to pay more to do the kind of traveling that other British Columbians take for granted when they hop in their car and hop on a major highway,” Krog said.
source & photo: CityNews
