The following letter was sent to Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone and copied to Coast Reporter.
I look forward to seeing you when the Legislature reconvenes next week.
I was saddened to hear of the plight of Fynn, a 14-year-old young man from the Sunshine Coast who was denied a walk-on ticket on the last ferry sailing of the night from Horseshoe Bay to the Sunshine Coast, because his bus was one minute late for BC Ferries’ arbitrary 10-minute cut-off.
When government endorses callous and restrictive policies such as this one, people lose hope that human compassion and common sense will ever win over cold-hearted efficiency.
The decision made by the worker at Horseshoe Bay could have put a 14-year-old constituent in danger.
What if the situation didn’t work out well, and a generous acquaintance was not available to go and pick him up? What would the worker have said when asked — that they were just following policy? As it was, when Fynn’s mother called BC Ferries, they said exactly that.
What kind of organization has employees who are afraid for their job if they save a 14 year old from having to spend the night alone in a ferry terminal by stretching a cut-off by one minute? This is a symptom of a serious larger problem.
I would be raising these issues with BC Ferries directly, but they have decided to stop attending meetings of the Sunshine Coast Transportation Advisory Committee, and show no interest in cooperating with West Vancouver transit. This is further evidence that BC Ferries, your sub-contractor of our public service, does not have the interests of their customers/passengers in mind. This is troubling, and I appreciate your assistance in ensuring the problem is resolved.
Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast
