Ferry update, Friday, March 28

Over the last couple of days I have had several email exchanges with Elgin McKillop, trying to convince him to schedule more ferry runs on days when traffic is expected to be higher than capacity. He says - and I believe him - that the ferry is making extra runs when they are needed. However, this does not help people who are not at the dock when the decision to make an extra run is announced, or when the extra ferry run is about to depart. There is no way for people to learn about spontaneous extra runs, and there is a great need to provide sufficient scheduled ferry service, especially during Easter week and other busy days.

I've copied Capt. Keith Hopkins on several of my emails to Elgin. He's the officer at BC Ferries who is responsible for overseeing the contracted ferry services, including to Lasqueti. He phoned me this morning, and he says he understands the need for adequate scheduled service, but he is in the positon of supervising the contract, not operating Western Pacific Marine or running the ferry. He will work with Elgin to make sure that our ferry service meets contractual requirements.

Please remember that this situation is caused by a major refit and upgrade to its systems for the Centurion VII after nearly 25 years in service. The ferry crew and your fellow passengers are doing the best that they can under a trying and stressful situation.  If you can, please minimize your trips on the ferry, try to take less-used runs, and when you need to be on a specific ferry, get there early -- really early if you really need to be on that run.