Alleviating delays and overloads, updates on the Langdale and Horseshoe Bay terminal upgrades and concerns with restrictions on staying on the lower decks are all on the agenda for next week’s Southern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) meeting in Sechelt.
FAC chair Diana Mumford said BC Ferries has heard the message about the need for more frequent service on the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay route, and the company’s message for the FAC remains it’s coming, but it’s going to take time.
“There’s the Horseshoe Bay [upgrade] engagement process that’s happening now, and it’s just at the beginning. And if you look at the timeframe for that and the timeframe for the Langdale upgrade and the timeframe for purchasing a ship, [more frequent sailings] are years down the road,” Mumford said. “Our ferries are struggling now. There’s overloads anytime of the day or week.”
Mumford also said the so-called expanded schedule introduced earlier this year, that put more time between sailings, worked fairly well in the off-peak season, but hasn’t helped much lately.
“I’m not seeing the same improvements holding in the shoulder season and past history has shown us that our shoulder seasons, either side of summer, are the most challenging,” she said, adding that some travellers have also been frustrated about the big gap between nighttime sailings out of Horseshoe Bay.
This year has been no exception when it comes to shoulder season traffic. There have been weekend overloads and delays for the past couple of months, and on Monday the company had to add an extra 6:50 p.m. sailing out of Langdale.
Darin Guenette of BC Ferries said the traffic has been at about the same volumes as a typical April-May and on-time performance has been good.
Guenette also told Coast Reporter there are no plans for interim schedule adjustments before the summer schedule starts on June 23, but the schedule that’s been in place since mid-May makes it easy to add an extra evening sailing.
“There is an availability for a sailing around 6:30 every day from Langdale that is currently not scheduled, but there is a vessel there [at the terminal]… We’ve been sailing it with some vehicles on board over the last week-and-a-half or so as required.”
Mumford said another recurring issue that will be up for discussion at the FAC’s June 6 meeting is the parking situation in Langdale, along with getting priority boarding for people travelling for medical appointments, and communication.
Mumford said the FAC has been hearing from the public that the information on the BC Ferries website about how full sailings are getting hasn’t been reliable.
“If people look at the site and say, ‘It’s only a one-sailing wait, I can do this,’ and they get there and there’s a three-sailing wait, people are not going to be happy.”
The FAC meeting comes as the NDP government anticipates delivery of a comprehensive review of the ferry service.
The review, headed by former deputy transportation minister Blair Redlin, was announced last December and the Ministry of Transportation told Coast Reporter this week that Redlin remains on track to meet his June 30 deadline.
“Following receipt of the report, the ministry will undertake a thorough review of the analysis, as well as share the report and discuss the findings with BC Ferries. The report will be made public following that review,” the ministry said in an emailed statement.
“Mr. Redlin has met with a number of stakeholders including BC Ferries Board and executive, the BC Ferry Authority, the BC Ferry Commissioner, chairs of the local ferry advisory committees and others.”
The FAC meeting takes place June 6 from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Seaside Centre in Sechelt. The public will have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the meeting.
