It may not be the end of a long weekend, but BC Ferries lineups were still long to start the week, with multiple sailing waits Monday.
BC Ferries is posting a multiple sailing waits for most of the major routes, and according to Jeff Groot, executive director, communications, it’s affecting those without reservations.
“It’s been a busy day coming out of weekend, where we’re seeing some leftover traffic. Particularly, it was busy last night trying to get off (Vancouver) Island, so we’re seeing some of that play into today,” Groot told 1130 NewsRadio just before 1 p.m. Monday.
“We reserve the majority of our ships, particularly on our major routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, and so when you see sailing waits like this, people with reservations, they’re moving normally. If you’re booked on a noon sailing, you’re moving on that noon sailing. So where we’re really seeing the waits is those people who didn’t make reservations and they’re showing up and facing multiple sailing waits.”
As of noon, the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route was reporting a five-sailing wait, with the next available sailing set for 6 p.m.
Groot says BC Ferries is expecting the whole day to be busy, with afternoon sailings full on a number of routes.
However, he says this isn’t a one-off. The sailing waits are part of an overall trend the company has been seeing in recent weeks.
“Really, Mondays are just becoming busier days, much like Thursdays and Fridays, where we’re seeing a lot of people, particularly during the summer months, looking to travel,” he explained.
“August is obviously a busy month, where people are trying to travel and be on holiday and go see family, so I’m sure there’s some of that. But we’re also seeing increasing demand. This is, again, a record year overall for BC Ferries, where we’re seeing our traffic increase year-over-year. We’re a travel choice for people and we’re seeing those volumes continue to grow.”
Groot is encouraging travellers to make reservations before they head out, noting bookings should be made as soon as you can.
The time you’re looking to travel also factors in.
“If you have the flexibility to travel on one of our lower-volume times, one of the off-peak times — generally, early in the morning, late at night, during a weekday — there are many, many more opportunities for you to save money with one of our Saver Fares,” Groot said.
He adds people without a reservation who still need to travel are still able to show up at ferry terminals, but they should be prepared to wait.
In addition to checking sailing capacity online before you head out, Groot says travellers who are able to consider other ways to travel, like walking instead of driving onto a ferry, should do so.
Long weekend waits, reservations
The BC Day long weekend is the “busiest weekend, historically,” for BC Ferries. This year was no different, Groot says.
And with Labour Day coming up, he explains BC Ferries is prepared for peak travel.
“We put a lot of work in coming into the summer season, where we have all of our ships go through refit, where we have all of their mechanical upgrades done to make sure that they were ready to be all sailing during our summer season. So that’s the plan again for the upcoming long weekend. We’re going to have all of our ships in service, we’re going to be expecting really busy times, particularly from Thursday morning right through to the Monday afternoon. So if people are looking to sail, same advice as always: book ahead, look for a reservation, and if those reservations on those specific times that you’re looking to sail are sold out, consider booking a different time or coming as a foot passenger,” he said.
Groot says the work BC Ferries has put in since last summer, when the company saw mechanical failures and staffing issues that led to delays and cancellations, has so far paid off.
“People are seeing smoother travel experiences. We shrunk our refit period to make sure that all of our ships were ready early, we’ve had some good progress, some good luck with some of the breakdowns, where we haven’t seen those on the same volume that we did last year. So, overall, it’s been fairly positive, so far,” he told 1130 NewsRadio.
Moving forward, Groot says BC Ferries will have to look at how it renews its fleet.
“How do we build new ships? We’re planning for bigger ships to meet the demand, especially as we know that population growth is going to continue on the Island and on the Lower Mainland in the coming years.”
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-With files from Maria Vinca