My husband and I chose to live in Langdale because it’s the closest Sunshine Coast area to Vancouver. We needed to work over there so we could maintain a peaceful life over here. A few years back I freed myself from the commute, but my husband and many of our West Howe Sound neighbours did not. In the meantime, their daily trip to work has become more onerous because of increasing ferry costs and dysfunctional sailing times.
Some relief may be on the way in terms of ferry fares, but for many commuters from West Howe Sound, the sailing times could become more wearisome.
In the run-up to the spring election, NDP incumbent Nicholas Simons said an NDP government would reduce fares on the Langdale route by 15 per cent and restore the seniors’ discount (free passenger fares Mondays through Thursdays). I asked our re-elected MLA whether an NDP government with the Green Party holding the balance of power would stick to those promises.
Simons stressed that many commitments the NDP made during the campaign are both Green and NDP policies. “Our concern about affordability [on the ferries] remains a concern, which is why we will be following through on our promise to lower fares and restore the seniors’ discount.”
He added that on-time performance on the Langdale route needs immediate attention.
My husband, Al Hyland, hopes that doesn’t mean he’ll lose sleep. Like hundreds of other commuters, he heads to Vancouver on the first ferry of the day. In the future – because of ferry upgrades and an on-time initiative – it may take longer to board that boat, and it could leave the dock earlier.
A recent federal grant to the ferries of $17.6 million will help fund, among other projects, a new terminal building, an overhead walkway for foot passengers, and reconfigured entry roads and ticket booths. Once the renos are completed, BC Ferries plans to charge a toll both to and from Horseshoe Bay.
BC Ferries public affairs manager Darin Guenette said two additional toll booths will be added within the next four years. Fare taking will be implemented after staff training and computer systems are in place, he told me in an email.
Ian Winn, Sunshine Coast Regional District director for Area F, said fare paying could add to commuting time.
In a recent survey of passengers, BC Ferries asked respondents their preferences for three proposed sailing schedules, which the corporation feels would help the ferries run on time. Two of the schedules would retain the first sailing of 6:20 am, but one option would move it to 5:55. Add that to possible line-ups at ticket booths, and you get a minimum leave-home time of 5:25.
And according to Guenette, it’s possible that an extra five minutes would be added to the pre-boarding ticketing cut-off, increasing it to 10 minutes from five. So a 5:20 a.m. rush out the door – for people like us who live one minute from the ferry – is conceivable.
Sorry, sleep lovers. You might as well retire and get the seniors discount.
Meanwhile, the West Howe Sound Community Association has ferry concerns on its topic list for future general meetings.
The next meeting will be an AGM on Oct. 11, in which the WHSCA will consider a change to its constitution. When the document was written it defined West Howe Sound in terms of postal rural routes. Rural routes are no longer used as addresses throughout West Howe Sound, so the association wishes to define its area as “the mainland of Area F.”
In another, more festive initiative, the WHSCA hopes to enter a float in the Gibsons Sea Cavalcade. The float’s centrepiece would be the Joracan composter the association is buying thanks to a grant in aid from the SCRD.
Anyone who has an idea about how to decorate the float, please contact me at [email protected], and please send me any news of West Howe Sound.
