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Ferries adds long weekend sailings, announces fuel surcharge

BC Ferries has added 92 extra sailings on the routes linking the Lower Mainland to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island for the Victoria Day long weekend.
queen of surrey

BC Ferries has added 92 extra sailings on the routes linking the Lower Mainland to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island for the Victoria Day long weekend.

There are 11 extra sailings on the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale route, and 15 more between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo, starting May 16.

Ferries says the busiest times will probably be Thursday and Friday afternoon as well as Saturday morning leaving Horseshoe Bay, and Monday and Tuesday from midmorning to afternoon out of Langdale. Check www.bcferries.com for reservations and travel tips.

BC Ferries has also announced that “due to current fuel market conditions” it will reinstitute fuel surcharges starting June 1.

“Despite fuel switching and other initiatives to burn fuel more efficiently, a fuel surcharge is now necessary. Fuel is our second largest expense,” BC Ferries president Mark Collins said in a release announcing the surcharges.

“We know that the affordability of travel is important to our customers, and we will continue to take measures to reduce our fuel consumption further through the introduction of diesel electric battery hybrid vessels.”

Collins said the fleet now includes five LNG-powered vessels, which he said is half the price of diesel, resulting in savings that are passed on to customers.

The surcharges will be an average of 1.5 per cent on most routes, which translates to an extra 20 cents on the passenger fare between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale and Earls Cove and Saltery Bay, and 65 cents on the vehicle charges for those routes.