BC Ferries ending fuel rebates for travellers due to high cost of gas
Travellers planning to use BC Ferries this summer are being advised that “due to current world fuel market conditions,” the company is getting rid of its fuel rebate program, effective June 27.
In a statement, BC Ferries said it “closely monitors the cost of fuel and from time to time applies a rebate or surcharge under a regulatory process that is independent of tariffs.”
That rebate/surcharge mechanism is used to manage the volatility in the price of
fuel.
“When fuel prices are lower, BC Ferries passes lower fuel prices on to customers through a fuel rebate,” the company said. “When fuel prices are higher, BC Ferries charges a fuel surcharge specifically designed to cover the additional cost of fuel.”
The company also noted it does not “benefit financially” from this mechanism.
“Over the past 14 years, we’ve had fuel surcharges, fuel rebates, and periods with neither,
depending on the market price of diesel fuel, so over the years it has basically been neutral for our customers,” said Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ President and CEO. “We know that the affordability of travel is important… and we use fuel deferral accounts and fuel hedging as tools to help reduce the impact that fluctuating fuel prices have on the cost of ferry travel.”
Fuel rebates of 2.9% for the major and minor routes and 1.9% for the northern routes have been in place since the spring of 2016.
This equates to 50 cents for an adult and $1.70 for a vehicle on the Metro Vancouver – Vancouver Island route and 30 cents for an adult and 70 cents on a variety of minor routes, for example.
More to come…
See also
Follow Channels and Categories