Travelers taking a vehicle on BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo will have to book and pay before getting to the terminal starting this week.
The change on Oct. 15 is to help control traffic during renovations at the ferry terminal and will only apply to people sailing from the Vancouver side.
BC Ferries has launched a new online tool to help customers plan their trips. It will set up an email alert for customers when a sailing is full to let them know if a space opens.
“This new tool is designed to help customers stay informed and act quickly if space becomes available,” said Melanie Lucia, vice president of customer experience at BC Ferries. “It reflects our commitment to invest in digital solutions that make travel easier, more transparent, and more certain for our customers.”
The booking system was launched on the Powell River-Comox route on October 8 and will expand to Horseshoe Bay routes to Langdale and Departure Bay on October 15.
BC Ferries will also add a separate digital waitlist tool to select routes later this year, which will allow travelers to add themselves to a waitlist on sailings where advance booking space was previously sold out.
If space becomes available, customers will be automatically booked on the sailing according to available capacity and their position on the waitlist.
“These tools are driven by customer feedback and reflect our broader strategy to expand digital tools, improve transparency and make better use of system capacity – whether you’re travelling for a vacation, work, a medical appointment, or anything in between,” says Lucia.
