BC Ferries says it’s been mostly smooth sailing as the busiest travel weekend of the year draws to a close.
Traffic is expected to build throughout Monday afternoon as passengers make their way back to the Lower Mainland, but spokesperson Karen Johnston said there were no major cancellations or delays on the books.
“I think what you’re seeing as opposed to last long weekend is the impact of the Coastal Celebration not being in service the previous long weekend, that took an immense amount of capacity out of the system,” Johnston said of the B.C. Day weekend compared to the delay-plagued Canada Day weekend.
“She’s back in the water right now, so I think you’re seeing that in terms of helping to smooth out the traffic patterns.”
The ferry service did see one minor hiccup on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route Monday morning, with the Queen of Surrey requiring a pump repair that pushed sailings about a half-an-hour behind schedule.
As of 2 p.m. there was a two-sailing wait for Horseshoe Bay bound vehicles without a reservation from Departure Bay in Nanaimo and no waits at the Swartz Bay (Victoria) terminal.
But the remainder of the long weekend has seen a smooth flow of traffic on all major routes, a welcome improvement after a season of headaches for travellers.
In addition to no major mechanical issues, there were no major staff crunch issues either.
“On the major routes there have been no cancellations due to staffing,” Johnston said.
“We did, as a measure this long weekend, have some key positions on standby, our licensed crew that you absolutely have to have in order to sail safely according to Transport Canada regulations.”
Johnston credited increased communication with travellers about travelling at non-peak times and promoting walk-on travel in helping prevent major congestion.
BC Ferries reported a slight dip in vehicle traffic on Friday and Saturday, with an increase in foot passenger traffic.
She said terminal parking lots remained busy, but that the ferry company’s parking contractor had also beefed up staffing levels to prevent a repeat of some of the chaos and confusion seen over the Canada Day weekend.
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