Editor:
Keith Maxwell's letter regarding ferry costs (Coast Reporter, Jan. 4) is a cheery outlook if you believe thatallof us using the Langdale ferry are served by the current fares. "Almost all the personal ferry travel on the Sunshine Coast is discretionary" would certainly cover ferry traffic if our communities were self-contained and the population left the Coast by choice.
But we're not self-contained and some of us don't have a choice. Many work in Vancouver. Some have not found suitable health care here and have been forced to find the help they need in Vancouver. There are those who leave the Coast every day to further their education. These are just three areas - none of which would I call discretionary. Health care, jobs and education are highly prized values in our society. Some might say that every Canadian has a right to all three.
B.C. Ferries is not making money on those who walk on and use TransLink to their destination. They make money on the guy whohasto take his vehicle on the ferry to do his job. This guy travels five times a week and spends $12,000 a year to see his family every night. The time and money this family loses each year to sustain their choice to live on the Coast is high.
Granted, the choice to live here is discretionary but, I guarantee if he could stay home and make a living, get an education or receive the health care his family needs, he would.
Families, students and individuals make many sacrifices to live here. The high cost of commuting tops the list. The guy who lives in New Westminster commutes on roads thatwesubsidize. Why wouldn't the same consideration be paid to all British Columbians?
Anne Simonet, Gibsons
