B.C. Ferries travellers can expect fewer trips on most routes and there will be no more free rides for seniors following an announcement Monday on planned service cuts.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone said in order to keep ferry fares from skyrocketing, the company must slash almost $19 million through service cuts between now and 2016.
That will include chopping $4.9 million from service on major routes, including the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay run.
It will also include $14 million in cuts to the minor routes throughout the ferry system, including routes to both Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast.
The government also announced seniors aged 65 and older will no longer ride the ferries for free Monday to Thursday. They will instead pay half the regular fare. That move is expected to save the ferry corporation $6 million annually.
Seniors groups and those representing coastal communities criticized the changes as targeting those most vulnerable and hurting coastal economies.
B.C. Ferries will also launch a pilot program to bring in revenue by putting slot machines on ferries serving major routes, beginning with the ferry between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.
The service cuts on smaller routes will go into effect in April. "These are tough decisions and there will be impacts," said Stone at a press conference Monday morning. He said
the government recognizes it's not possible to reduce service "without it having some effect on users."
Most of the runs being cancelled are late at night and have much lower ridership, said Stone. "On occasion the passengers are outnumbered by the crew."
The changes mean 234 trips will be slashed on the Bowen Island to Horseshoe Bay run including the first two morning round trips on Saturday and Sunday year round and the last trip on Saturday night. That is expected to save the corporation $270,000.
Cuts also include 40 trips to Langdale from Horseshoe Bay, including the first Sunday ferry in off-peak times. That is expected to save $200,000.
Claire Trevena, the NDP critic for ferries, called the announcement of service cuts "appalling," saying it amounts to the government turning its back on coastal communities and saying, "We don't care about you.
"B.C. Ferries were created as the highway system for a maritime province," she said. "It's a necessity if we're going to have people working and living in coastal communities."
Critics had previously called on the province to put more money into the ferry system. But Stone said Monday that's not going to happen. Taxpayers have already provided about $180 million to the ferry system this year, including an extra $85 million spread over several years to help reduce fares, he said.
The financially troubled ferry corporation has seen costs balloon since it became a quasi-private corporation more than a decade ago.
Ferry fares have risen between 130 per cent and 140 per cent in the past decade. Meanwhile, debt costs have tripled - now accounting for 28 per cent of all ferry expenses - fuel costs have doubled and labour costs are also up.
Ferries brass has also warned the corporation is looking at having to spend about $2.6 billion more over the next decade to renew the fleet and do terminal upgrades.
