If you plan on taking the ferry after Tuesday, April 1, you may have to budget a little extra for the trip.
This Tuesday will mark the second four per cent fare increase in the past five months for all routes across the B.C. Ferries' fleet. It also denotes the start of performance term two (PT2), the private ferry corporation's next four-year schedule of fare and service increases. It's all aimed at covering fuel costs, paying for neglected infrastructure and revamping the aging ferry fleet, said B.C. Ferries spokesperson Mark Stefanson.
"In large measure, the fuel costs for the routes have gone up significantly," he said, adding the increased fare is also helping fund ongoing capital projects, including money for terminal security upgrades.
Ferry fares are priced based on the time of year, which is divided into off-peak, shoulder and peak seasons. March 14 to June 26 is considered shoulder season.
On April 1, fares for adult foot passengers travelling on route three (Horseshoe Bay - Langdale) and route seven (Earl's Cove - Saltery Bay) will go up to $11, from the current $10.55 ($9.75 plus the current $0.80 fuel surcharge). The new price includes the fuel surcharge, which will be updated automatically four times a year. If and when the fuel surcharge changes, the difference will again appear as a separate item on the receipt. Fuel surcharges will rise or fall as they track the price of fuel, through a formula devised by ferry commissioner Martin Crilly.
Regular (i.e. underheight) vehicles will pay $37.25 including fuel next month, up from $35.80 ($32.90 plus the $2.90 fuel surcharge). Vehicle fares don't include passengers or drivers, who will each need to pay the $11 passenger fare. In the summer peak season, which begins on June 27, a vehicle trip for a family of four with two teenagers will cost $85.15. While rising prices hit all ferry users in the wallet, the Southern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) is crying foul over the insubstantial discounts being offered to route three users compared to other routes. Using prepaid tickets, or the new B.C. Ferries Experience card, launched on Wednesday, vehicles will earn just a 23.3 per cent discount, the second lowest among the 18 ferry routes with discounts. Foot passengers will be granted only a 22.3 per cent discount when using pre-paid fares, the lowest amongst the 18 routes, which offer average discounts of more than 30 per cent. (Discounts apply only in off-peak and shoulder seasons.)
"We've always had the lowest discounts on our prepaid tickets, which was our bone of contention for the last number of years," said Jakob Knaus, the leading number cruncher among the Southern Sunshine Coast FAC. "Our argument is our commuters go to the same places of work as those from Bowen Island, who enjoy a foot passenger discount of 39 per cent."
Ferry users with prepaid tickets will be able to transfer them to the new B.C. Ferries Experience Card, which was officially launched on March 26. Ticket books will stop being sold at some point in the summer, but those who've already bought them will be able to keep using them - though they'll have to pay the difference to meet the new fares.
