Ahead of the arrival of the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver, B.C. Ferries announced Wednesday its plan to manage what’s expected to be an early and increased peak season.
Vice President of Strategy and Planning Brian Anderson said the company wanted to give its customers a clear picture of how it plans to manage inevitable disruptions “because we know that’s the reality of the system we’re working within.”
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Citing a recent history of repeated service disruptions, including mechanical issues, congestion and even a police incident, Anderson says BC Ferries is taking a holistic approach in preparations.
“We’ll be starting earlier this year with our summer schedule on some routes beginning on June 11, two weeks sooner than usual, to better meet the continued growth in demand and projections for a busier travel season,” he explained.
“With a nod to the FIFA World Cup that’s coming up, I’ll borrow a soccer analogy. Our peak season is like playing the full 90-minute match with no substitutes. All our ships will be in service every day. And in the event there’s an injury that puts us down a player, or a ship in this case, we can’t bring a replacement in from the bench.”
Anderson says the summer will be complicated by higher travel volumes, more concentrated travel windows, more visitors who are unfamiliar with the ferry system, fuel price volatility, supply chain pressures, and increased demand across all transportation networks. Those challenges, he says, will be compounded by BC Ferries’ aging fleet and maintenance requirements.
Under its regulatory framework, he says the company can implement a temporary fuel surcharge.
“If implemented, any surcharge would be temporary and communicated in advance so customers have time to prepare. We know affordability matters, and we don’t make these decisions lightly, but we also have the responsibility to maintain safe, reliable service across the network.”
To address the many other challenges, Anderson says BC Ferries has been preparing for months.
“With demand continuing to grow, a major focus this year has been on making sure we’re using the available capacity as effectively as possible while giving customers more certainty and more tools to plan,” Anderson explained.
“That includes adjusting schedules and adding sailings where possible, expanding the amount of space that can be booked ahead on a number of routes, and expanding discounted saver fares to incentivize customers to travel on less busy sailings.”
Vice President of Customer Experience Melanie Lucia says the company has also increased staffing levels and started seasonal hiring and training earlier than usual.
“We’re hiring over 630 seasonal staff, which includes 124 returning employees. The majority of those are already trained and onboarded,” she explained, adding that she’s also focused on clear communication with customers.
Lucia says online waitlists and booking alerts will help give travellers flexibility and “improve their chances of getting on their preferred sailing.”
Schedules and more information about BC Ferries plans to address summer demand can be found online.
As always, the company recommends customers plan their ferry travel well in advance.
The mayor of Gibsons says he is satisfied with the plans BC Ferries has announced, and is especially happy with the approach the company plans to use when dealing with potential problems.
Silas White says the contingency plan really lays things out, especially for those in ferry-dependent communities like his.
“I’ve actually never seen this before, released in such a public way,” he said.
“We can plan our lives around it and be more understanding for when the contingency planning actually has to come into play.”
He says he is particularly happy with the transparency over the limits of the aging fleet and what would happen if a ferry gets pulled out of service.
“That is important, especially in a community like ours where there’s quite a sophisticated understanding of our ferry system from a lot of people who’ve been using it all their lives,” he said.
White says the key to this all working out is communication, something that hasn’t always been the best in the past.
The plans laid out today, he says, suggest BC Ferries has heard the complaints and is serious about making things better.
While BC Ferries prepares for peak season, the union representing employees is concerned about increasing work levels among staff already in danger of burning out.
“What we’re hearing, going into May long weekend, which is sort of the unofficial start of summer, and especially after the mechanical challenges of Easter weekend, is members are already working a lot of overtime in our maintenance department,” said Eric McNeely, president of the BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union.
“People are reporting working seven days a week for months, and in the vessel and terminals, what we’re hearing from members is that they’re getting calls on just about all their days off, on their vacation days, looking to keep the system running, and that’s without all the vessels operating.”
Now, with the FIFA World Cup just around the corner, those concerns are increasing.
“That really begs the question: where is leadership making these decisions? How are they making those decisions? And if this ferry system falls through this summer, who do we hold accountable?” McNeely said.
He says when ferry users have a negative experience, they often direct their frustrations at staff members.
And now, McNeely says, the employer has started looking into worker attendance rates.
“We believe that’s likely because people are working most of their days off, on vacation days, and therefore are falling ill, sometimes just through exhaustion,” he said.
“I think when an employer starts spending a lot of time looking at attendance rates, what that suggests is they’re concerned about how the system’s operating. And in this scenario, it appears they’re pointing the finger at the worker, not at the system that isn’t being resourced and directed the way it should.”
He says the union is currently bargaining with the employer, and he is hopeful that positive changes will help with retention and recruitment.
— With files from Emma Crawford and Dean Recksiedler
