BC Ferries is getting more expensive and here’s when fares go up | Daily Hive

BC Ferries is getting more expensive and here’s when fares are going up

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Peak travel season is just around the corner for BC Ferries, and fares are about to increase for passengers on routes across the province.

BC Ferries’ price hikes for 2026 are going into effect on Thursday, April 8, in line with the 3.2 per cent system-wide annual increase that began two years earlier.

Rather than applying a uniform increase, BC Ferries is adjusting specific fare categories to meet the increase permitted in the decision made by the independent BC Ferries Commissioner in 2023.

The ferry company says this targeted method helps optimize vessel capacity, spread costs equitably across the network and encourage more off-peak travel — reducing congestion and delays during the busiest periods.

BC Ferries

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“Demand for ferry travel continues to grow, and we have set new records for the last two summers,” said Brian Anderson, vice-president of Strategy & Planning at BC Ferries, in a previous release.

“At the same time, operating one of the largest ferry networks in the world comes with significant cost pressures – from maintaining an aging fleet and terminals to rising labour, fuel and parts costs. Announcing fares and opening bookings now gives customers more time to plan and helps us manage demand in a way that supports reliability for everyone who depends on the system.”

Fare changes starting on April 8 include:

On major routes between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island:
- Standard vehicle + adult fare (drive-up or prepaid): $110
- Adult foot passenger: $21 (up $1)
- Child foot passenger: $10.50 (up $0.50)
- Saver fares unchanged at $15 for adults and $7.50 for children
On minor and northern routes, fare increases will range from:
- $0.95 to $2.05 for standard vehicles
- $0.40 to $0.60 for adult passengers

The fare hikes also go into effect just days after a chaotic long weekend saw multiple BC Ferries vessels being out of service.

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A key component of BC Ferries’ 2026 fare changes is a significant expansion of Saver fares — lower-priced options on sailings that typically have greater availability, such as midweek or early-morning trips.

These discounted fares will now make up more than 30 per cent of all bookable space, with over 200,000 new discounted options added to the system.

BC Ferries also recently revealed its new tools to assist customers in getting on busy or sold-out sailings.

This includes expanded email alerts for the Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen–Duke Point routes, as well as a waitlist pilot that launched on the Powell River–Comox route in early April.

Daniel Chai/Daily Hive

Passengers travelling on BC Ferries are getting a multi-year reprieve from any major fare increases through March 2028. But that could change from the flip to the next fiscal year in April 2028.

BC Ferries CEO and president Nicolas Jimenez previously told Daily Hive Urbanized that, based on the budgetary forecast made in 2023, a fare increase equivalent to about a 30 percent hike is projected to be necessary in order for the ferry corporation to simply keep up and manage its operations and capital costs.

He suggested that the fare increase cost pressures could now be even higher than 30 per cent if the budgetary forecast were updated, given that cost inflation continued to be an issue over the past year.

Currently, fare increases require the final approval of the independent BC Ferries commissioner, which was previously approved in October 2023.

With files from Kenneth Chan and Amir Ali