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Our editor's opinion

New ferry route could be just the ticket
September 1, 2010 12:12 PM	Like

Numbers are down for BC Ferries in the north, even with two beautiful boats and the most gorgeous routes in the whole world. It's pretty convenient too, on summer Thursdays and Fridays, when the Skidegate boat connects with the Port Hardy boat.
Assuming, of course, that anybody from here goes to Port Hardy any more. Most islanders get off the ferry in Rupert and start driving, even if they are going to Vancouver. There are people who drive around although their final destination is Port Hardy. Really.
There's a few reasons for this. One is that you pretty much have to take your car to Hardy, because the schedule makes it so inconvenient to take the bus. The ferry gets in at 11 am and the bus departs at 8 am, so you'll have to spend a day and night in Port Hardy, eating in restaurants and renting a hotel room.
But it's not cheap to take a car to Port Hardy on the ferry (never mind a camper, RV or truck). In fact, once you add up the cost of taking a vehicle from here to Port Hardy, plus cabins and food aboard the ferry, it's usually cheaper to fly.
Wing on down to Vancouver, rent a car or even better, take the Canada Line downtown and get right on with things. Hard to beat for efficiency.
For choice, however, we'd still like to go by sea. If only we could ride past Port Hardy and on down to Tsawwassen - at a reasonable cost - how wonderful that would be.
In the spring, BC Ferries floated an idea for a ferry route on the North Coast from Vancouver. North Coast municipal leaders rejected the proposal - for many good reasons, including a possible loss of jobs based in Prince Rupert - but it may be worth taking another look at.
There are three big boats running north of Port Hardy in the summer. BC Ferries would propose a new service only if they perceived an under-utilized capacity on the boats. Recognize, too, that the corporation funds their whole fleet on a handful of profitable runs between Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
There are large numbers of people who cruise on those floating hotels through the Inside Passage directly to Alaskan waters. BC Ferries would like a slice of that action and we might like a chance to go home even without going to Alaska.
If no-car routing is good for locals, it's just as attractive to tourists. Haida Gwaii is so fascinating that all of it could be a World Heritage Site instead of only SGang Gwaay Llnaagay. From Gwaii Haanas to Naikoon and everywhere in between, this is all one big destination. Everybody knows about us and we're on everybody's bucket list. Too bad it's so hard to get here! There are lots of tourist facilities here. A quick grandmother survey of friends and neighbours who've put their tourism money where their mouth is didn't find a single person who didn't want more tourist traffic.
Think of the convenience of boarding the ferry in Tsawwassen and getting off in Skidegate. If Ferries can shuffle the load around for mid-coast ports at 3 am on winter mornings, they similarly leave the through-passengers aboard in summer too.
So in summary we've got the world-wide interest, we've got the attractions, we've got the facilities. All we need is a chance to ride on a ferry that goes from Vancouver all the way here.