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B.C. Ferries forces Bowen passengers to wait as ship sat idle (Includes interview)

Queen of Capilano late

The ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island normally runs once an hour, with regularly scheduled alterations from that schedule. On the Saturday evening in question, Sept. 26, the ferry was running late.

Deborah Marshall, the executive director of public affairs for B.C. Ferries, said the Queen of Capilano was late due to a variety of factors, including a stalled car needing to be towed from the ferry, heavy traffic and the road leading to the terminal staging area being paved.

The ship should have had a 6:20 p.m. sailing from Snug Cove but was a full hour late, not arriving back into Snug Cove until about 7:10 p.m, missing that 6:20 p.m. sailing entirely. It was then scheduled for its regular Saturday evening lay-over, during which time drills are run onboard the ship.

Often the lay-over is cancelled when the ferry is so late and they keep servicing the customers instead of sitting. There were at the time dozens of cars lined up to travel to Horseshoe Bay and some 30 foot passengers, some with small children.

But B.C. Ferries decided to keep the lay-over and wait another hour to depart, a choice that, not surprisingly, did not go over well with customers. Many had arrived at the terminal before 6 p.m. to get in line and had been waiting an hour-and-a-half.

Ferry passengers upset

It was after the ship off-loaded and the entrance gate closed that it became apparent the ferry was not going to sail and customers congregated at the gate and demanded an explanation. A few began yelling and members of the crew came up the ferry ramp to talk to them, though they did not come any closer than 20 or so yards.

Passengers asked why a lay-over was being taken when the missed sailing had caused such a large line-up. Crew members told them the decision was not theirs to make and that there was nothing they could do about it.

One angry woman kept yelling her kids were cold and begged ferry workers to allow them to wait on the ferry; she was repeatedly told it was against regulations. The crew suggested she take her children to a local restaurant for warmth and she responded that she could not afford to do so.

The quarreling went on for some 15 minutes with neither side convincing the other to alter their position. In the end the water-taxi was hired by B.C. Ferries and foot passengers were taken to Horseshoe Bay while the ferry continued with the lay-over and vehicle passengers continued to wait.

B.C. Ferry apology

Marshall told Digital Journal that in “hindsight” the decision to lay-over may not have been the best and it was acknowledged the ferry could have continued to run. She did not name who made the decision to keep the ferry idle despite a line-up of frustrated customers.

“Basically it boils down to a failed attempt to get the ship back on time,” Marshall said. “In hindsight, it would have been better to continue to run late. Apparently they did discuss continuing through the layover but the messages had already been distributed.”

On behalf of B.C. Ferries Corp., Marshall apologized to all “customers that were inconvenienced.”

The ship sailed at 8:15 p.m.

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