BC Ferries fare hikes forcing some to rethink island work, life

Anyone got the current fare list ?

Because $220 return for just a car and driver is just insane.

I'm guessing that most people using the ferries have the choice as to where they want to live or work... but $220 must be either a typo or crazy.

Scroll down and weep, $53.25 for a private vehicle, not even including the driver. I don't know how they got the $220 rate, it should be $69.50 for a passenger vehicle and driver. If they are on one of the gulf islands, that's another trip which could bring the fare up to the $220 mentioned.

A 3.4% Fuel Surcharge will be applied at time of payment to the Net Fares listed above except on the BC RESIDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM & the Bicycle/Stowage fares.

I remember when it was $5 - $6 for walk on

At that rate it's still subsidized about 20%. Why should these travellers be subsidized?

BC Place Stadium, The Sea to Sky Highway, All the Olympic venues, SkyTrain and all Provincial Highways. Should I keep going?

Exactly. You say sea to sky tho, wouldn't that apply to every road that's not tolled? Like the Island Hwy?

You're right. I shouldn't have used the Sea To Sky highway as and example since it's still an non tolled highway and would fall under the same umbrella as the rest of them despite the fact that it was done more for the Olympics than for commerce.

But the rest of them still apply. What pisses me off is that Bennett and successive gov'ts considered BC Ferries part of the highway system and with one stroke of the pen Gordon Campbell turned it into a self supporting private company that only answers to it's only shareholder, the Liberal Gov't.

It's a joke, nobody thinks they should get a free ride but the fact remains that paying 80% of the fare is pretty much making the Ferry Corporation the most expensive toll road in Canada's history.

I'm actually trolling here, to make a point. People complain about govt spending, except when it favors them.

I agree that the ferries should be seen as part of the highway system. I don't know wtf the Liberals think they are doing, choking off access to parts of BC. That was Bennett's genius, opening the province up by building roads, and nationalizing (provincializing?) the ferries, BC Rail and BC Hydro. Good for him for not being a dogmatist, but doing what made sense.

But hey, think of how much less taxes you pay now. That should make up for it.

Yeah, but think about how much I get to pay in user fees and that should make up for the cheap taxes I'm paying?

Looks like another episode of I Love BC: come for the scenery, stay for the incredibly stupid way we do literally everything.

To those that think that this the ferry should be considered part of the highway system, I have a question.

At what point would a ferry be part of the highway system? Any exceptions?

Would the North Sydney, NS to Argentia, NL also be part of the highway system even though it's a 16 hour crossing?

By the way, the fare for that one is $232.20 for a car plus $115.30 per adult passenger.

You're comparing apples to oranges. That Ferry service would be part of the highway system if like BC, the Premier of either Province had said it was part of the system when they started the service which obviously didn't happen. So no expectations means they have no legitimate complaints.

In BC the Ferries were always part of the highway system from it's inception till, the Liberals changed it to a Private Corporation with no public bids for the assets, no referendum to see what the people of BC wanted, no consultation with the users and only them as the shareholder.

Gotta love the Liberals. Reduce progressive taxation where you pay a higher percentage as your income rises, instead pay a flat fee same for everybody. It's the flat tax by another name. The very low income folks are protected by various reductions in fees, but the lower middle income earner really takes it up that wazoo.