No nine-sailing wait? BC Ferries mess leads to travel chaos

BC Ferries is having some issues and it doesn’t seem like restarting the computer will fix its problems.

Earlier today, we reported that BC Ferries told passengers there was a nine-sailing wait if they were bound for Victoria from Metro Vancouver.

Now it seems like that may not be the case.

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As of 9 am, the BC Ferries website suggested there was a nine-sailing wait, with the earliest available seating not taking place until the evening. Earlier on Tuesday, BC Ferries suggested similar on Twitter or… X.

@BCFerries/Twitter

However, Daily Hive readers have informed us that the information about the nine-sailing wait was incorrect upon arrival at BC Ferries.

“I was at the ferries today at 11:30 am and there was only a one-sailing wait. I’m skeptical of this information,” one reader said.

Another reader emailed Daily Hive, saying, “Your article concerning bc ferry nine-sailing wait was totally inaccurate. There was reservation space two hours before the three o’clock sailing and space without a reservation at our arrival time of 2:15 pm. Your article almost had us cancel our important trip.”

BC Ferries responds

Hours after Daily Hive sent multiple requests to BC Ferries to confirm the situation, it responded saying there was a technical issue and the website wasn’t showing the accurate information.

“Our Current Conditions webpage reflects all customers showing up for their reservation. This morning, 10-20% of customers did not show up for their reservations,” the statement reads. “We hold space for customer reservations until 30 minutes before the scheduled sailing. Reservations are increased to maximum levels on all ships between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen to accommodate reservations displaced due to the Coastal Celebration being out of service. Tower controllers update the space available within Current Conditions based on customer no-shows and the ability of our crews to load vessels to their maximum capacity.”

According to BC Ferries, this morning most customers were able to board a ferry by 11 am and people who did not have a reservation experienced one to two sailing waits.

“While there was traffic down the causeway at opening, crews were able to get causeway traffic cleared around 5:15 am. All reserved passengers on the 5:15 am sailing were loaded successfully,” the statement goes on to read. “Currently, customers are looking at a one- to two-sailing wait leaving Tsawwassen. From Swartz Bay, there is currently availability on the 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm sailings.”

BC Ferries statement to Daily Hive did not include an apology to customers and did not share this information widely as of 5 pm Tuesday.