BC Ferries has posted schedule refinement options to various ferry routes on its website.
The move has come with a wish to gain feedback from the public amidst propositions of change to certain routes.
Route 20, Chemainus – Thetis Island – Penelakut Island is particularly affected.
“It’s important for the communities affected by the schedule adjustments to give us their input on the draft schedule options, and we urge our customers to take a few minutes to complete the online survey,” said Mike Corrigan, BC Ferries’ President and CEO in a press release.
Surveys are available online or can be conducted via telephone.
Deadline for ferry users to submit their thoughts and opinions is February 21.
BC Ferries has said it will meet with community leaders including Ferry Advisory Committee members and the new schedules will be implemented as of April 28.
Earlier this month, B.C.’s provincial government announced a $14 million reduction in ferry services, but further cuts are to come in the future.
“The province said they wanted to save $18.9 million,” Darin Guenette, manager of public affairs at BC Ferries, told The Chronicle. “The other $4.9 million will come through cuts to the major routes from Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland by April 2016.”
According to Guenette, BC Ferries has a bit of leeway with regards to the changes in terms of ferry sailing times, but the province has already set in stone the number of changes that need to be made.
“The province has told us we need to save some costs and as we’re a contractor, they pay us to do that. We can adjust a ferry sailing to later in the day as long as it’s in the same shift,” said Guenette.
Full details of the proposed changes can be viewed here: http://www.bcferries.com/about/publicconsultation2/2014_service_Level_adjustments/
