Skip to content

Ferries have economic impact

Editor: The Union of BC Municipalities recently released a report they commissioned on the impact the increase in ferry fares and schedule cuts has had over the last 10 years.

Editor:

The Union of BC Municipalities recently released a report they commissioned on the impact the increase in ferry fares and schedule cuts has had over the last 10 years.

The report concluded the fare hikes led to an 11 per cent decline in ridership since 2003, but if the fare increases had been limited to the rate of inflation over that time period, ridership would have grown 19 per cent. They concluded that would have added $2.3 billion to the provincial economy, and generated $609 million in tax revenue for the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

I don’t think anyone on the Coast is surprised by the conclusion that raising fares means less trips to and from the Coast, yet the provincial government doesn’t get it. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone said he rejects the conclusions of the report and feels there is no loss to the economy, as the people would have spent the money somewhere else.

Maybe he is correct, but I’ll tell you who did lose out on that economic activity — it is us on the Coast and all the other island and coastal communities served by BC Ferries. Where is the government study on the economic impact to coastal communities? Where is their plan to rein in ferry fare increases to stimulate the local economies? Nowhere.

Paul Keyes, Hopkins Landing