Editor:
Re: “Try arriving early,” Letter by Margaret Sinclair, Sept. 16.
Define early? I have to get to the Lower Mainland for work. As a freelancer I can get called for work as late as the day of, on some rare occasions. One of those last year was a Sunday morning, in which I would have had to be at Langdale by 10 a.m. to guarantee I would be able to start work in downtown Vancouver for 4 p.m. As luck would have it they cancelled, but I was a little stressed watching the BC Ferries website. Having commuter priority or at least assured loading would greatly reduce the stress of getting to work on time. I do check for reservations for high-volume days but they are always sold out. Often I am aiming for the ferry before the one I need to catch to guarantee I get to work on time.
As a full-time resident, my spending is into the tens of thousands of dollars for goods and services here on the Coast, and I’m sure there are others like me. Having commuter priority would bring other professionals that don’t have to work on a daily basis to the Sunshine Coast, rather than just retirees who, for the most part, spend less in our community than those of us that are still in their working, child-raising years. If the situation with the ferries continues to deteriorate, one of my options is to leave the Coast, which would take not only the money I spend here out of circulation, but the rent I would have to charge as well.
John McGee, Elphinstone
