To the Editor,
Re: Reserving on ferries will penalize tourists, Letters, Feb. 4.
Finally, a sensible and intelligent suggestion to improve ferry utilization and ease ferry terminal congestion.
Pre-purchasing ferry tickets for all passengers, without the current prohibitively high reservation fee, will undoubtedly assist in the planning and utilization of both ferry boats and manpower.
Appropriate vessels could be assigned, based on volume of traffic.
Vehicular traffic at the ferry terminals would be minimized, as people would arrive at a time appropriate to the ferry they were catching.
Traffic congestion at ferry terminals, a bane to local residents, would be greatly reduced; particularly at peak travel times.
The infrastructure is already in place for the sale of ferry tickets.
Buying tickets online would be the obvious choice for most people.
For those without a computer or not comfortable buying tickets online, there is an easy solution: the ubiquitous retail lottery outlets which are found in all shopping centres and most convenience stores. These outlets would be an ideal location for ferry ticket sales.
The effect on tourism would be positive, not negative.
It is common practice for travellers to purchase air, train, hotel tickets as well as rent a car online – why not a ferry ticket?
With less time spent sitting impatiently in a ferry terminal, wasting their valuable and hard-earned vacation time, tourists could be out there, enjoying our beautiful province, not to mention, spending their tourist dollars that are so important to our economy.
Richard Leney
Nanaimo
