Service Reductions

The Province has set an objective of $18.9 million in total net savings to be achieved through service reductions by 2016. Annual net savings will carry forward to reduce future pressure on fares.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and BC Ferries had identified the following considerations to inform service adjustment decisions:

• SIGNIFICANT ANNUAL SHORTFALLS: Consider service reductions on routes that experience significant annual financial shortfalls
• LOW ANNUAL UTILIZATION: Consider service reductions on routes that experience low annual utilization (such as less than 55% total vehicle utilization per year)
• LOW ROUND-TRIP UTILIZATION: Consider service reductions on routes that experience low round-trip utilization (such as less than 20% vehicle utilization per round trip)
• BASIC LEVELS OF FERRY SERVICE: Basic levels of service should be considered (i.e., ensure the majority of users can get to work or school)
• ROUTES REQUIRING VESSEL REPLACEMENT: When considering service reductions, take into account routes that require imminent vessel replacement, including alternatives such as route reconfiguration
• COMPLEXITY OF MULTIPLE-STOP ROUTES: When considering service reductions, take into account the complexity of routes with multiple ports and those that provide connections to other areas

The Province has set an objective of $18.9 million in net savings to be achieved through service reductions by 2016. This target will be achieved in two phases. Based on the considerations previously outlined, a service reduction plan on the minor (including Route 3) and Northern routes to achieve net savings of $14 million through to 2016 has been identified. This leaves $4.9 million of service reductions still to be identified. The $4.9 million in savings will come from future changes to the three “major” routes connecting Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland (in addition to the $4 million in net savings already in place for 2013 to 2016). A separate engagement process will be undertaken to seek input on changes to the major routes.

For specific route-by-route descriptions of the service reductions included in the $14 million package please review the Discussion Guide.