It was news we expected, but it's still hard to take.
It's going to cost you a lot more to travel back and forth to the mainland, thanks to a fuel surcharge announced this week by B.C. Ferries.
Coast residents are going to be hit in the pocketbooks to a tune of 20 cents to $3 more per round trip between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay.
The announced increase isn't sitting too well with many people.
Ed Steeves, chair of the S.C. Ferry Advisory Committee, feels residents on the Coast have been shafted again.
Take, for example, the Tsawwassen/Duke Point run (route number 30). The travelling time is 120 minutes and the distance is 37 miles. Route three (Langdale to Horseshoe Bay) is 20 miles return with a travelling time of 80 minutes. You would think, based on those numbers, our fuel surcharge would be lower, right? Wrong.
In all categories except overheight vehicles, route 30 is lower than us.
We have the highest fares based on loading plus distance. We have the smallest resident discounts. And now we have the highest fuel surcharges. Do you blame Steeves if he's a little upset?
The advisory committee has been lobbying for answers, but they don't seem to be forthcoming any time soon.
In March, president and CEO David Hahn was in Sechelt for a public meeting put on by the ferry advisory committee.
At that meeting, Hahn answered a lot of questions about service and schedules, concerns about the aging fleet and the need to provide new vessels.
He also addressed the positives about route three.
He spoke highly of the improvements to the Langdale terminal and the positive growth route three was experiencing. After losing money a couple of years ago, we broke even last year, and this year we're a route that is finally showing good profit.
Hahn told Coast Reporter his goal was "to make travelling on B.C. Ferries as efficient and enjoyable" as they can.
Now we know that the rising costs of fuel is making it hard on everyone. We've all being paying through the teeth when we fill up our cars. Airlines have upped their ticket prices because of fuel costs, and now B.C. Ferries.
We realize it's the cost of doing business. But if Hahn was truthful in his comments to us in March, how is charging travellers on this route more compared to longer and busier routes going to make travelling an enjoyable experience?
These rates are not fair - plain and simple.
