Last week, in my capacity as chair of the Bowen Island Ferry Advisory Committee I attended a full-day meeting with the chairs of the other 12 FACs, representing the other smaller routes in the BC Ferries system. The meeting followed a breakfast meeting with Mark Collins, the CEO of BC Ferries, and four other members of the management team.
I can report that the ferry service is busier than ever. This will not be a surprise to anyone who travels regularly! The 2017-18 fiscal year saw a record number of vehicles carried through the system. It is expected that passenger numbers will be at an all-time record this year.
BC Ferries is both pleased and dismayed at this. Pleased, because all profits go back into the system to pay off debt. Dismayed, because all this traffic means crowded ferries, overloads and unhappy customers. In fact, there are overloads happening on routes which have never experienced overloads before, such as the 15-minute run between Graham Island and Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii. Collins announced more ferry runs to deal with the constant overloads on the Gabriola Island and Quadra Island routes. Their overloads are much worse than what we experience on our route and so BC Ferries will replace each of those single ferries with two smaller ferries, increasing capacity and frequency and reducing the marshalling congestion. New ships are expected in service in 2021.
Could more runs be a prospect for the Bowen route? As much as I’d like to see our ferry frequency increased, there is no way that BC Ferries can increase the number of dockings at Horseshoe Bay. At 36 dockings per day, it is already well over capacity. That’s why ferries in and out of Horseshoe Bay are often delayed by “cross traffic.” However, our committee will continue to push for a foot passenger ferry service into Burrard Inlet, which could take pressure off the Queen of Capilano.
New ferries will be hybrid liquid natural gas-electric vessels with the possibility of full conversion to electric power in the future; one thing that is needed to have fully electric ferries is adequate provision of power at the docks. BC Ferries is working with BC Hydro on this.
BC Ferries recently restored some of the Bowen sailings that were cut in 2014. Those restored sailings are a two-year pilot. While I hope that these will become a fixture in the schedule, at present they are over and above BC Ferries’ contract with the province. BC Ferries will be reviewing how well-used the sailings are during the next year and we will press for their retention.
One of the best things about these meetings is hearing from the other committees. We learn a lot from each other. I gained valuable perspective on Bowen’s challenges. For example, the ongoing delays in bringing the Northern Sea Wolf into service on the Port Hardy-Bella Coola route have had devastating economic effects on tourism in the region. If the worst of our troubles is with the new toilet seats on the Queen of Capilano, we can be grateful.
On the other hand, on Gabriola, low-cost Experience cards, pre-loaded with the exact amount for one or two passenger trips or one vehicle plus driver trip are available for purchase from the co-op, at a charge of 25 cents. These are designed for folks who don’t have ready cash available to pre-load the Experience card with its current minimum fill levels. To achieve this on Bowen we would need an organisation or business to step up and offer to handle it. This is an item for our committee’s agenda this fall.
Finally, I can report that within a few years we will have a new building at Snug Cove. A heated waiting room with integral toilets. Planning work will begin in 2019. BC Ferries is also planning to install signs and webcams within the next six months at all the minor terminals to improve communications.
If you have concerns about the ferry service, please contact the ferry advisory committee. This can be done most easily via Bowen Island Municipality Transportation Advisory Committee as the FAC is a sub-committee of BIMTAC. You can also contact me directly at [email protected].
