B.C. Ferries is working on its schedule for the southern Gulf Islands routes next year, when the Polish-built Salish Heron goes into service, based on feedback from ferry users in the area.
The Salish Heron will join the Salish Raven, which arrived in 2017, on the southern Gulf Islands routes. The Heron will replace the smaller Mayne Queen, which is heading into retirement.
The first stage of a public engagement process involving a survey and online meetings has wrapped up, with 2,523 respondents telling B.C. Ferries what they would like to see on the routes serving Saturna, Pender, Mayne, Galiano and Salt Spring islands.
The top three issues that emerged are frequency, preferred sailing times and capacity.
B.C. Ferries said preferred sailing times varied by island, but focused on supporting travel to and from Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay for day trips, tourism, visitor and part-time resident travel needs, commuter needs and the movement of commercial goods and services.
Among survey respondents, 58 per cent were full-time island residents, while the remainder were part-time or visitors.
The southern Gulf Islands schedule is the most complex in the system, B.C. Ferries said.
“We must consider each island and customer need, and how these needs fluctuate by season as we look at making enhancements to our service,” it said.
B.C. Ferries plans to work with local ferry advisory committees and southern Gulf Island communities to evaluate options, and aims to produce final schedules for southern Gulf Island routes later this year.
At 351 feet long, the Salish Heron will operate on liquefied natural gas or diesel fuel and have capacity for 138 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew.
