“How's that possible?“: Frequent BC Ferries traveller is baffled by service

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For many, travelling with BC Ferries isn’t just part of an annual summer holiday but is a vital part of getting to and from work obligations or family. However, in recent years, sailings have become more unreliable for frequent travellers like Joseph Le, he tells Daily Hive Urbanized.

He has relied on BC Ferries for more than two decades, usually travelling to and from Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay every other week for work and to see his family.

But those visits to Vancouver Island have become more frequent, especially after Le’s father got sick.

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While BC Ferries does recommend people travelling make reservations, Le admits he usually doesn’t, adding he needs the flexibility to travel between Vancouver and Nanaimo because of his obligations.

“I’m used to the ferry. I know how to navigate through their system without having to pay the extra $[18] for a reservation. But it has changed significantly in the last few years,” he said.

In previous years he said it was never an issue hopping onto the ferry without a reservation.

“It’s not abnormal to miss one ferry during summer months, even several years ago,” he said. However, in recent years, he said sailing waits in the summer have become “outrageous” as he’s experienced waiting, on average, a three- to four-sailing wait.

Most recently, when Le was travelling back to Vancouver over the weekend, he said he arrived at the terminal at 1:35 pm but waited about seven hours to catch a sailing.

The long, frustrating, and tedious wait was a surprise to Le, he said.

Before making his way to the terminal, he said he checked the BC Ferries website which suggested he would be able to catch an afternoon sailing. When he reached the terminal, BC Ferries reported there was 15% capacity left for an upcoming sailing; however, when he walked up to the cashier, he was told he would need to wait until the 8:30 pm sailing.

“I literally just checked the website and there were only three cars in front of me. How’s that possible? And then I went to go refresh the page, low and behold, it’s 8:30.

“So I was really perplexed. I just thought maybe a human error… but that wasn’t the case.”

Le said while he waited for his sailing, “it was chaotic,” adding complaint cards were passed out to frustrated customers.

“I would say at least an inch and a half thick, maybe two inches worth of complaints from people that were waiting [were written].”

In the years he’s travelled with BC Ferries, Le said the cap limit for reservations has increased.

The route with the highest deck space bookable is Tsawwassen to Duke Point (at 95%), Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay (at 90%), and Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay (at 85%).

Fully bookable routes exist for people walking on or driving in with vehicles, but those are reserved for sailings that embark less often.

Le suggests BC Ferries should be prioritized on a first-come, first-serve bases.

“It should be treated like a road,” he said.

Or he suggests BC Ferries should only allocate 30% to reservations to give the people that use the ferry during the summer time since they are able to plan their trips in advance, which would make it easier for people who often use it to commute hassle-free.

Le told Daily Hive Urbanized that because reservations cost travellers and BC Ferries profits, he believes the Crown corporation won’t change its reservation system despite the challenges it is presenting to frequent travellers.

“I truly believe they’re doing this simply for greed,” he said. “Because everyone that… is a regular user, they’re not thinking to use a reservation because they’ve been using it for 10, 20, 30, 40 years without fail and if they miss one sailing, that’s fine. But I don’t think people are willing to knowingly sit there for four, five, six, seven, eight hours just to save $20.”

In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, BC Ferries said it “is committed to providing both bookable and standby options for our passengers as their needs vary.”

“On some routes, we adjust the amount of bookable vehicle deck space depending on how much area is available at the terminal to stage vehicles, how much deck space is on the ferry, and the amount of demand,” it reads on the BC Ferries site.

BC Ferries

Knowing what he knows now, Le said he is considering booking in advance if he can. Especially after his more recent trip with BC Ferries, he said if he’d known how long he would end up waiting, “I would have paid double the price to get across.”

Do you think BC Ferries sailings should be loaded on a first-come, first-serve bases? Tell us in the comments.

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