BC Ferries wants rider input to help optimize ferry schedules for two of its secondary routes.
The company has opened an online feedback portal and will be holding virtual meetings to get feedback from regular ferry users of the Nanaimo to Gabriola Island route and the Campbell River to Quadra Island route.
The goal is to optimize sailing schedules for the two new vessels destined for each route. BC Ferries has created a proposed schedule, which doubles the frequency of sailings during peak travel times and increases capacity on each route.
BC Ferries will also be working with the Ferry Advisory Committees, Indigenous communities as well as other stakeholder groups and employees.
“Key operational considerations are incorporated into the proposed schedules, including the need to synchronize the movement of two ships, fuelling, labour requirements such as shift handovers and mandated safety procedures and drills,” reads a release from BC Ferries.
The Island Class vessels are designed for full electric operation once shore charging infrastructure becomes available, and the vessels will be outfitted with hybrid technology — similar to hybrid cars — until that time.
The Gabriola meeting will be on Tuesday, April 6 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. The Quadra meeting will be on Wednesday, April 7 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. To participate in the online engagement and to RSVP to the meeting visit https://www.bcferriesprojects.ca/islandclass.
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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