As seen in a collection of testimonies from commuters posted in The Vancouver Sun Wednesday, no one is in favour of the proposed elimination. In fact, most were outraged.
There are two BC Ferries terminals in Nanaimo, previously mentioned Departure Bay and Duke Point (featuring the alternative route to Tsawwassen (south of Ladner and Delta)). Possibly for one with a vehicle, the rerouting though Tsawwassen wouldn’t be as big a deal as they are capable of traveling the new distance but for some commuters on foot (one woman in the linked video above), it makes traveling to the mainland like they always have been impossible. (And for the drivers, it takes an hour to get to West Vancouver from Tsawwassen– provided traffic is light, which it rarely is.)
From a business perspective, I do understand why BC Ferries would try to eliminate that route and send everyone though the Tsawwassen terminal instead. As I was raised in Victoria with family in Vancouver, I’ve been on the ferries my entire life, probably several hundred times. I remember when I was young, playing at the park at the Tsawwassen terminal for hours because it was summer and there was a three sailing wait due to the mass amount of people. Now, most recently in May, I arrived at the Swarts Bay (operating terminal for Victoria/southern island) at 11:57am for the noon sailing and made it on without a problem. The problem is that sailings are often running half full (with the exception of holidays and long weekends). Sailings are running half full because fares are constantly increasing, making even a day trip to Vancouver unfeasible for most.
The real kicker: As demand for sailings is decreasing, the fares are increasing– which is the problem why sailings have low passenger rates.
I understand that BC Ferries is trying to eliminate costs and increase ridership (pun not intended) on the alternative Tsawwassen- Duke Point sailing by riding itself of the Horseshoe Bay- Departure Bay sailings but that does not change that the negative views of the public on this proposal. (Is no one mention that this is one of the two routes that creates a profit?)
Fortunately, the public was heard and the BC government has discarded the proposal to eliminate the route, a relief to many.
So what’s your opinion? What do you think about BC Ferries? Should it matter when most people don’t live on Vancouver Island?