B.C. Ferries will add 46 sailings to the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale schedule for June, the ferry corporation announced Wednesday.
The extra sailings are scheduled on Thursdays and Fridays, and during the last week of June, with the summer schedule beginning on June 21 instead of June 28 to better meet the increased demand in traffic, a BC Ferries spokesperson said.
To achieve the added sailings, the Queen of Coquitlam will be doing “L runs” – which means the vessel will be shared with the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay route. After the June 21 schedule change, the Coquitlam will be dedicated to Route 3 to Langdale.
BC Ferries will also be adding 32 sailings in June between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay and 11 extra sailings on the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay route.
The move is “in response to significantly increasing traffic levels” on BC Ferries’ three major routes.
“Vehicle traffic is up by approximately six per cent on our major routes so far this spring, and so we are adding even more extra sailings on our busiest routes to increase capacity and improve our on-time performance for our customers,” Corrine Storey, BC Ferries’ vice president of customer services, said in a news release.
A spokesperson denied that the larger number of added sailings to the Langdale route was an indication that the route was more underserved than the other two majors, saying the other routes already had extra sailings added to their schedules.
BC Ferries operates under contract to the province of B.C.
