Transportation Minister Todd Stone says there are no plans to close one of Nanaimo’s two major ferry terminals.
Stone told reporters today he’s ruled out closures.
“What I can say to the people of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island unequivocally is there are no plans to close either of the terminals in Nanaimo,” he said.
Nanaimo has ferry terminals in Horseshoe Bay and Duke Point with service to the Lower Mainland. B.C. Ferries also has service from Nanaimo to Gabriola Island.
Stone said there are “opportunities for further savings” on the routes that sail out of both terminals. And he said he’s analyzing whether the Horseshoe Bay terminal really needs a planned $250 million in upgrades.
“This provides, I believe, a terrific opportunity in the context of such a massive potential capital upgrade to take a long, hard look at the service that’s provided,” he said. That could include different, potentially smaller, vessels serving communities, he said.
“We’re in the early stages of that analysis and have more to say about it in the coming months,” said Stone.
The B.C. government wants to cut $4.9 million out of major route sailings between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland in future years and Stone said there are likely to be more service announcements after further work is done to analyze the Duke Point and Horseshoe Bay routes.
