BC Ferries will be trying something new this summer in the way people travel on the route between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale.
According to a media release from BC Ferries, customers told them that planning for and being certain of travel times were some of the most important considerations to make travel less stressful and easier for all. BC Ferries employees also provided ideas for improving travel.
“In response to this feedback, we will be trialing the concept of the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route becoming a fully reservable route, increasing reservation allocations to 95 per cent, while protecting space for medical assured loading (MAL) travellers and making travel assistance program (TAP) travel easier,” the release stated. “During the trial, we will offer free reservations and lower prepaid fares to spread traffic more evenly across the day. For our commercial customers who already have the opportunity to make a free reservation, we will be increasing reservation space, asking all commercial traffic to reserve in advance and offer lower fares on less busy sailings.
The trial is also expected to improve travel certainty for customers connecting to and from the upper Sunshine Coast, the release stated.
The trial has been endorsed by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).
“We are also asking our customers to share responsibility for creating travel certainty by letting us know when they plan to travel and making a free reservation in advance of travel,” the release stated. “We’ve made it easy to do and will be accepting reservations up to 45 minutes in advance of a sailing, space permitting.
“We will ensure the community is well informed about changes to their travel experience prior to the start of the trial. Over the coming weeks, we will share more details about the trial and specifics about how it will work, and the changes customers will need to make in the way they plan their travel on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route this summer.”
The release stated the trial is not about encouraging people to travel on BC Ferries.
“We will continue to strongly advise travel for essential reasons only. For those who must travel, we believe the trial will help smooth demand over the course of the day and reduce congestion at our terminals, making the travel experience safer for those who are travelling for essential reasons. Increasing reservations will also reduce the experience of long delays at the terminals and will minimize the time in lineups and public spaces.”
