B.C. Ferries is advising Easter long-weekend travellers to plan ahead, especially for the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay-Langdale routes.
Both routes are likely to have limited standby availability at peak times due to ongoing work on two key vessels — the Queen of Surrey and the Queen of Oak Bay, both of which are 44 years old.
The Queen of Surrey is undergoing its annual refit, while the Queen of Oak Bay and the 60-year-old Queen of New Westminster require repairs, B.C. Ferries said, adding all vessels are expected to be ready for the peak of the summer travel season.
The Queen of Coquitam is providing relief service for the Queen of Surrey, so it won’t be available for extra sailings usually offered over the Easter period, B.C. Ferries said.
The ferry company said it’s expecting vehicle numbers to be up 15 to 25 per cent and passenger numbers to rise 40 to 60 per cent over the long-weekend period, compared with a typical April weekend.
To accommodate the extra traffic on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route, B.C. Ferries said it’s adding 37 round trips – or 74 sailings – from Thursday through Tuesday.
Peak travel days over the long-weekend period are Thursday and Friday for those heading to Vancouver Island, and Sunday and Monday for travellers heading to the mainland.
Volume is expected to be lower on Saturday and Tuesday.
B.C. Ferries offers the following suggestions:
• book in advance
• consider travelling as a foot passenger and using public transit to get to the terminal
• look into alternate routes to and from Vancouver Island where there is more availability
Air travellers are advised to check the websites of the airlines they are flying with and also the Victoria International Airport site at yyj.ca over what will be a busy weekend, said airport spokesperson Lindsay Gaunt.
She said Victoria airport didn’t see the same problems Vancouver International Airport has seen this week amid a shortage of air-traffic controllers.
Nav Canada said Thursday that operations at the Vancouver airport were back to normal for the weekend.
Given the volume of passengers expected in Victoria, Ganut said it’s still a good idea for people to arrive early for their weekend flights.
“Give yourself a little bit more time to travel.”
