Vehicle fares on three BC Ferries routes will increase by 1.9% starting in April, but fares for route 8, Horseshoe Bay to Snug Cove, will stay the same alongside fares on all the other minor, northern and Horseshoe Bay sailings.
“We’ve heard fair affordability loud and clear from customers,” says media relations manager Deborah Marshall. “I know that our pricing team is concerned about covering the costs of new vessels and capital replacement projects, but it seems that we can meet those needs while keeping prices stable on a number of routes.”
Marshall adds that in 2016, ferry commissioner Gord Macatee approved an annual fare increase of 1.9% for all routes.
Susanna Braund, chair of Bowen Island’s Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC), says that this decision is definitely something to be happy about.
“It is worth noting, that the way that BC Ferries makes its decisions on fares is complex,” says Braund. “The size of the province’s contribution to BC Ferries is a factor - and we know that fare-box revenue covers 101% of their operating costs, whereas fare revenues from TransLink cover 40% of their operations.”
Braund adds that another complicating factor is the price of fuel, which fluctuates constantly.
“To deal with that, they use a fuel deferral account, where they park money when fuel costs less than the predetermined set price per litre and from which they draw when it costs more,” she says. “This fund is the source of fuel rebates; it is also where fuel surcharges go. Currently the fuel rebate stands at 2.9%. Look at your ferry ticket and you will see this broken down.”
Braund adds that BC Ferries has used money from the fuel deferral account to hold fare-prices steady last year so that there appeared to be a fare-freeze.
This year, she says, “there really is a fare freeze,” but fuel prices look to be increasing. This could mean the fuel rebate you see on your ticket disappears, and when that happens it will feel like a fare increase.
Next week, Bowen’s FAC is expected to release an in-depth voter fact-sheet on ferries with more details on how fares have risen in relation to the Consumer Price Index since 2003.
