"We have struggled": BC Ferries' CEO speaks publicly after silence over screw ups

It’s been a rough performance for BC Ferries the last couple of weeks, and its CEO hopes the organization will have a rebound with smoother service ahead of another long weekend.

BC Ferries held a Zoom conference on Wednesday morning to share its BC Day plans, which it calls its busiest weekend of the year. Surprisingly, the Zoom conference went ahead without a hitch.

Here’s how BC Ferries reflected on its last couple of weeks and how it hopes to navigate the BC Day long weekend.

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Around 580,000 passengers are expected to travel via BC Ferries this weekend.

President and CEO Nicolas Jiminez reflected on the last week that caused passengers many issues.

“We have challenges,” he said, stating that the ferry service issues can’t be fixed overnight.

He also said, “We have struggled.”

To try and avoid another disastrous weekend, Jiminez said that many staff are being held on critical standby, and it sounds like improvements have been made to the network infrastructure, including more staff to help fix issues. Furthermore, all vessels are expected to be in operation this long weekend. There should also be better online reporting regarding wait times.

“If something does come up, we will deal with it.”

A reporter asked Jiminez what letter grade he would give himself for his performance and BC Ferries over his first five months in power.

Jiminez took a more diplomatic approach to his answer, saying, “This company is in a difficult space.”

He added that the organization needs to be more resilient, including better communicating with its partners, like the media. In the end, he didn’t give himself a letter grade.

A reporter also asked if passengers should be compensated if a sailing doesn’t go out on time, specifically about the reservation fee people are charged. Jiminez responded that the organization makes every effort to get passengers out on time. He added that a compensation program is offered for folks who can’t travel on another sailing.

Are you travelling with BC Ferries this long weekend? Are you scared? Let us know in the comments.