Editor:
The January change to hourly ferries was a seldom-seen success for ferry customers, but they were clearly an afterthought. Rather than buying smaller, faster ferries, the new money is to be spent onshore. Reducing the ferries to single-deck access but more frequent service worked much better for those forced to use the ferries. Pulling out the Queen of Surrey and replacing it with the smaller, slower Island Sky resulted in many sailing delays and more lineups and now we are going back to a single ferry every two hours. Right now, we have a two-hour and 40-minute wait for anyone leaving Horseshoe Bay to get here.
BC Ferries’ response to inadequate service is to obtain federal funds to do some maintenance (more parking lots to wait in?) including setting up a system to charge people both ways. But we are told that sometime in the 2020s they will replace our aging boats with smaller ones (more waits?). They hire people year round to monitor parking because it’s first-come, first-served rather than a system where people can purchase a ticket and they can expect to be loaded. There must be a huge cost to man all the lots and ticket booths needed because the only system they’ve automated is a “pay more for priority” reservation system.
We have a busier summer as people “discover” the Coast and look forward to longer waits, even for people who must get to Vancouver. We pay more taxes for fewer benefits than people on the East Coast! BC Ferries’ motto should be to make it better for customers, and the B.C. and federal governments need to step in and accept responsibility for changing their direction.
Ted McNicol, Gibsons
