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City of Powell River council members were provided an update regarding BC Ferries operations at the December 2 council meeting.
Councillor Jim Palm said he had recently attended a Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee meeting. He said with COVID-19, not as many people are travelling.
Palm said he asked a question about summer sailings, because there was a statement from BC Ferries before last summer that the company was going to put extra sailings on the Langdale ferry run to increase the frequency.
“Because of COVID-19, that didn’t happen,” said Palm. “We all know, if you were travelling last summer, there were many waits and a lot of sailings missed by people from Powell River. The good news is, I was assured that the extra vessel will be on that route this coming summer, and hopefully, there won’t be any cancellations, because that’s what happened last year.”
Palm said there was a lot of discussion around connections going to Vancouver and that they are being addressed. He said one of the letters received by the BC Ferries representatives at the meeting was from a Powell River resident, who wrote to let the company know he wasn’t happy during a recent trip to Vancouver.
“The ferry was late coming into Horseshoe Bay, which resulted in him getting over to the other side a little later than planned and he ran into some issues on the road to connect at Earls Cove,” said Palm. “By the time he got to Earls Cove, at 7:03 pm, the ferry had left the dock at 7 pm with only four cars on that boat and 30 cars were lined up behind him.
“In no uncertain terms, he let them know that that’s not acceptable. The way he was treated at the terminal by an employee was not exceptional, either. So BC Ferries will be writing to the individual and giving him an update and hopefully, since BC Ferries is a service industry, word goes out that if you are in service, you’re there to serve.”
Palm said regarding a website upgrade, BC Ferries is working on reservations, sailing updates and current conditions. He said he is hoping there will be some online improvements in the near future.
Palm said BC Ferries is planning for more ferry advisory committee meetings face-to-face, which has been a difficulty during the pandemic.
He said with COVID-19, masks are a hot topic and there was concern that staff members on the ferries were not wearing masks.
“BC Ferries heard that and they are going to address it,” said Palm. “Also, many of our sports teams are travelling without masks while the youth are onboard, so I simply stated to the ferry crew at the meeting that it might be a good idea to send a letter or some form of communication to the school district. They would send a letter to all of the principals, and when people from our community come to pick up free passes from the school district, something in writing can be given indicating that teams need to be supervised and be asked to wear their masks while they are onboard.”
Palm said regarding ferry staffing due to COVID-19, because very few staff members are not vaccinated, it was stated at the ferry advisory committee meeting that staff who are not vaccinated will be laid off. He said this could potentially result in ferry cancellations due to staffing issues.
“I want the public to be aware of that,” said Palm. “Nothing is guaranteed in terms of where we are at with this policy of the BC government.”
Palm said the triangle route involving Powell River, Texada Island and Comox is on hold, simply because of less ridership.
