Editor:
Another summer is over and still the commuters on the Coast are frustrated that we do not have a reliable commuter boat.
We know that during the summer keeping a schedule is difficult and we have accepted the later commuter sailing. Unfortunately B.C. Ferries have added a shoulder schedule from the May to Thanksgiving long weekends so now we are almost five months without our boat. It may not seem like much to B.C. Ferries but it is a very real issue and is taking a toll on us and our families.
Theysaidthey need to push back our sailing to keep theferry on time, but even with that weconstantly facing delays andare tired of hearing that 10 minutes late meansthey are on time.
In the Horseshoe Bay terminal I have found alack of communication about what is happening. When the boat is running late we seldom get announcements with updates on arrival times or why they are late. The message boards say "on time" or "boarding" when we are sitting there and the boat is nowhere in sight.The message board above the doortells us we are boarding the Nanaimo or Bowen ferry. This must be very confusing for tourists or infrequent riders on the ferry.
I find the terminal staff try to do a good job, but they are being put in a hard position by the policies of the corporation. It is time forthem to have real consultation with the people on the Coast and look at a radical redesign ofthe schedule. I for one would even consider scaling back a sailing if a reliable on time summer schedule could be developed, as it is now we can't count on the existing one anyway.
Paul Keyes
Gibsons
