BC Ferries set to announce summer service plans

As BC Ferries is set to announce its plans for summer service on Wednesday, one ferry-reliant community says chronic disruptions and delays need to be addressed immediately.

Gibsons Mayor Silas White says the town has been trying to get the ferry corporation to talk about it for months. White tells 1130 NewsRadio that they only found out about Wednesday’s announcement for summer plans through the media.

“We’ve been trying to engage with BC Ferries since January, about the summer schedule,” White explained.

He says it’s an example of why communities like Gibsons are so dissatisfied with the communication they get from BC Ferries.

White says they hope the summer schedule for Langdale will again include a second vessel and hourly service, but these are now needed outside of the summer travel period, as well.

“Ferries have been chronically late ever since the Easter weekend, and it’s causing a lot of disruption in our community when people don’t have reliable ferry service,” he explained.

He says the schedule outside summer is often chaotic, overloaded, and late, and not set up well to serve residents of the Sunshine Coast.

“If we’re going to assume the boats work, we’ve been wanting to have a conversation about starting the summer schedule early, which we desperately need on the Sunshine Coast. And we’ve been suffering through the decision not to do that,” White said.

“The shoulder seasons, prior to the summer schedule and after the summer schedule, really need to be addressed, and we need a second boat,” he added.

BC Ferries is set to unveil its summer plan around 10 a.m. Wednesday. You can watch The Leader Spirit 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date with this story. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

With files from Maria Vinca.