Above: The Spirit of Vancouver island entering Active Pass (Noah Schmidt/Flickr)
Unless you’re a huge fan of local transit, you probably didn’t read BC Ferries’ recent 25 year plan. I took a peek at it, and although there’s a ton of not-so-interesting information, one thing sticks out: Foot Passenger Ferries.
I’ve walked on the ferry a number of times, it’s my preferred way to ride. I’m a bit of a nervous driver, so parking at the terminal or bussing in and leaving on-foot alleviates much of the stress for me. But beyond nerves, price is also a guiding factor. This may come as a shock, but gas isn’t cheap. In fact, it’s getting unbelievably expensive. I, and many others, don’t want to spend one hundred dollars on travel expenses just to get to and from the terminal, it’s a tremendous waste. I mean, a bus ride from Swartz Bay to Victoria may take longer than a journey by car, but at least I’m not struggling to find parking downtown or watching helplessly as my fuel gauge falls dangerously low.
Another key piece of this puzzle is the ecological impact. Think about it, if there were more foot passenger ferries with lower ticket prices, it would incentivize more people to carpool or transit to and from the terminal, taking hundreds, or maybe even thousands of cars off the road each day. That seems pretty noble to me.
Above: The Salish Heron may be a similar size to future passenger-only vessels. (Noah Schmidt/Flickr)
Alright, this seems pretty good, right? Save some money, help the environment in the process, and for the skittish driver, a way to justify not taking the car. The only question left is where to book your tickets. Well, perhaps I should’ve been a bit clearer at the beginning: The 25 year plan is just that, a plan. There’s no concrete routes or infrastructure for this type of project yet (although speculative routes between YVR and Saanich and Vancouver and Nanaimo were mentioned), and according to BC Ferries, there likely won’t be for some time. So what can we do in the meantime? Well, foot passenger options are still available on drive-on ships, so if you’re like me and want to see a reality where foot traffic is encouraged, maybe leave your car at home next trip to Victoria. For the more involved supporters, emailing BC Ferries to show your support can’t hurt, if we show them there’s demand, they’ll listen.
Whether or not BC Ferries implements this plan falls on us, and although the wait will be a long one, I can see a project like this being well worth it. In fact, there’s one more thing that would take this project over the top: No more car alarms going off for 30 minutes at a time in the parking bay! Just the calming sounds of the sea, total serenity. That’s something I’d sell a kidney for.
Written by Noah Schmidt
Contact: nschmidt20@my.bcit.ca