BC Ferries is trying something new for a month to see if an extra sailing catches on with commuters between Horseshoe Bay and the Sunshine Coast.
As part of a trial run, an extra commuter round-trip sailing on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route will be added Monday to Friday from Sept. 5 to Oct. 6. The sailing will depart Horseshoe Bay at 5:50 p.m. and Langdale at 7 p.m.
Providing reliable sailing times and maintaining school and work commute times were chief among feedback BC Ferries received during a recent public engagement program on schedule changes for service between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale and Snug Cove on Bowen Island respectively. More than 4,000 people took part in giving BC Ferries feedback.
In reviewing the responses, BC Ferries has learned passengers want reliable sailing times and considerations such as adequate capacity and connectivity with transit should be viewed as equally important when evaluating schedule and other changes.
Those living on the Sunshine Coast are requesting adding a later last sailing out of Horseshoe Bay and additional weekend sailings.
“We heard from a lot of different sectors from the communities and are pleased with the high level of engagement we received,” stated Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ president and CEO in a release. “We know these routes are challenged by sailing delays and we want to make changes to ensure our customers can rely on the schedules as published. We are pleased to review the report and incorporate public feedback where it is operationally possible.”
Current schedules on the Horseshoe Bay–Langdale and Horseshoe Bay – Bowen Island routes are not achievable, and customers often experience delays, according to BC Ferries which is why they say they engaged those communities for feedback.
However, schedule changes require careful consideration, said Collins.
“It’s a very fine balance. We move up to 39 sailings daily in and out of Horseshoe Bay terminal using only three berths. There are trade-offs that we have to make to adjust the schedules, and we wanted the communities’ input in deciding which trade-offs we should make.”
BC Ferries is also looking at long-term plans for terminal improvements, vessel replacements, and information technology upgrades to help improve service to the Sunshine Coast and Bowen Island. However, these improvements are still a few years away, according to the company.
The company has also announced additional weekday sailings on the Horseshoe Bay–Langdale route for the remainder of August, to address higher levels of traffic. For full schedule details visit bcferries.com.
BC Ferries will review the feedback it received from the public and creating a schedule that it says will “balance public input with operational constraints to improve the on-time performance for Langdale and Bowen Island routes.”
The report can be viewed at bcferries.com/about/ontime-sc/to.
During the Labour Day long weekend B.C. Ferries is anticipating busy periods on Thursday and Friday afternoons, Saturday mornings, Mondays and Tuesdays. Reservations are strongly recommended.
BC Ferries is anticipating the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route will be busy starting on Thursday, Aug. 31 for sailings leaving out of Horseshoe Bay and “very busy” for trips between Langdale to Horseshoe Bay from 10:50 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4.
Travellers between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo, meanwhile, should expect busy conditions all weekend, especially Monday, Sept. 4.
