BC Ferries seeks public input on future strategy, including transit integration

BC Ferries seeks public input on future strategy, including public transit integration

Artistic rendering of a redevelopment concept for BC Ferries' Horseshoe Bay terminal in West Vancouver. (BC Ferries)

In order to determine how the province’s coastal ferry network will steer its long-term future, BC Ferries has launched a new public consultation process seeking input on multiple possible directions.

The “Charting the Course” plan will provide a guide for BC Ferries from 2050 and beyond.

This includes directions to achieve a level of reliability, resiliency, comfort, and convenience as expected, with schedules and capacities meeting the essential needs of demand, including during peak periods. The ferry system will be both cost effective to operate, with “affordable fare choices,” and financially sustainable and resilient to changing market and economic conditions.

You might also like:

BC Ferries’ services would be integrated with other transportation systems to make it more convenient to travel by public transit, foot, or bike, effectively reducing the reliance on traffic driven by vehicles. At the same time, the ferry system will also support the efficient movement of commercial goods and services, and support regional, economic, and tourism strategies.

The forthcoming strategy will also incorporate safety, accessibility, technological advancement, and climate change mitigation goals.

This represents the very early stages of creating the decades-long plan, with the online survey for the current public consultation open until November 28, 2023. A summary of this first phase of public engagement will be released in early 2024.

The second public consultation on a draft plan will be conducted in Spring 2024, with the final “Charting the Course” plan released in Summer 2024.

BC Ferries has plans to order 11 new ships by the early 2030s, including four small Island Class hybrid-electric ships for minor routes and seven large ships for the major routes between Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver. If all goes as planned, the first new ship will enter service in 2029.

Most of these new vessels will be replacements of aging vessels. While the population and economy of BC’s South Coast have increased exponentially over the decades, the fleet capacity and service levels have not seen a proportional growth.

In 2019, BC Ferries completed a feasibility study on the potential of operating an east-west, high-speed, passenger-only catamaran ferry service between Colwood and Ship Point (next to the Fairmont Empress Hotel) in Victoria Inner Harbour. It found that such a service could potentially see net revenues, with a ridership of about one million passengers annually — about one-sixth of TransLink’s SeaBus ridership — and the removal of about 1,000 vehicles from the road.

Also in 2019, a report commissioned by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure recommended the consideration of a new BC Ferries terminal at Vancouver International Airport — on Iona Island, immediately northwest of Sea Island.

Just prior to the pandemic, BC Ferries created a highly detailed concept for redeveloping the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal into a world-class transportation hub. At the time, it was estimated to cost about $250 million.

You might also like: