Thursday July 15, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
Island Social Trends | Mary P Brooke, editor [and notes by Jalen Codrington]
The cost to travel with a vehicle on BC Ferries will be slightly higher soon.
Due to what is being called the increasingly high cost of fuel, BC Ferries has announced today that they are reducing the fuel rebate that is offered to customers. The corporation will reduce the fuel rebate from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent effective August 1, 2021.
This evidently translates to an increase in a few cents on the fare price, for both passengers and vehicles.
BC Ferries says that it closely monitors the cost of fuel and applies a rebate or surcharge (or neither) under a regulatory process that is independent of fares.
Rebate/surcharge mechanism:
Over the past 17 years, BC Ferries explains that it has been using a fuel rebate/surcharge mechanism to manage the volatility in the price of fuel.
When fuel prices are lower, BC Ferries passes lower fuel prices on to customers through a fuel rebate. When fuel prices are higher, BC Ferries charges a fuel surcharge specifically designed to cover the additional cost of fuel only.
Switching to other fuel sources:
BC Ferries now has five vessels operating on liquefied natural gas, which it calls a “cleaner and less expensive fuel source than the ultra-low sulphur diesel that is presently used for other vessels, as noted in today’s release by BC Ferries President and CEO Mark Collins. Two hybrid electric ships are in service and four more are on the way, he added. “These investments help reduce ferry user exposure to volatile fuel prices.”
Despite fuel switching and other initiatives to burn fuel more efficiently, Collins says a reduction in the fuel rebate became necessary at this time. “BC Ferries understands the importance of affordability of travel to our customers, and we will continue to take measures to reduce our fuel consumption further through the introduction of diesel electric battery hybrid vessels.”
Almost all routes:
The newly-announced fuel rebate will be 0.5 per cent on average on all routes with the exception of the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii, and Port Hardy to Central Coast routes. Those routes have a separate mechanism pertaining to the cost of fuel and the rebate will remain at 1.5 per cent until further notice.
About BC Ferries:
BC Ferries was established as a Crown corporation in 1960 by the Social Credit government of the day. It was transformed into a half public, half private entity in 2003 by the BC Liberals.
Although the service is still publicly owned and the BC government remains its sole shareholder, BC Ferries operates under the direction of an independent board, and its fares are regulated by an independent ferry commissioner. The current provincial leadership has found this relationship, at times, to be a challenge with regard to maintaining affordable fare pricing for the user-public. Ferries are considered to be part of the highway network of coastal British Columbia.
Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau has said in the past that the ferries system should be viewed as necessary public infrastructure and not as a profit-driven business. Ahead of becoming premier, Horgan did say he would take a look at this setup, but evidently realized it was too big and/or complex to wrestle with, so long as there could be political influence on cost to the public and taxpayer.
===== RELATED:
BC Ferries jumps on board for Step 2 (June 14, 2021)
BC Ferries eligible for Safe Restart funding as part of highways network (August 11, 2020)
Ferry service model to enshrine the public interest (April 3, 2019)