Washington State Ferries anticipates the exchange rate favouring Americans will boost passenger numbers this season on the Sidney-Anacortes route.
Spring has officially arrived and that means the MV Chelan has returned to service on the route.
The 328-foot-long vessel carried 244 passengers from Anacortes in Skagit County, Washington, to a kick-off ceremony in Sidney on Sunday attended by representatives from both sides of the border.
“We think this year, with the currency exchange, the numbers could improve,” Washington State Ferries spokesman Broch Bender said.
The service operates with one vessel until June 12, when the 382-foot MV Elwha is added. Two vessels are in service until Sept. 17. The service then drops back to one vessel until Jan. 7, 2017. The route is not serviced again until spring.
Each vessel can carry up to 1,090 passengers. The Elwha has room for 144 vehicles, while the Chelan has capacity for 124.
The Chelan leaves Anacortes daily at 8:30 a.m. and stops at Friday Harbor on its way to Sidney to arrive at 11:10. It departs Sidney at 12:05 p.m. and reaches Anacortes at 3 p.m.
Costs to ride the ferry between Sidney and Anacortes are unchanged from last year, Bender said. The one-way, walk-on price, for example, is $19.25 US. A standard-sized car, between 14 feet and 22 feet, with a driver costs $42.40 US one way. There is no charge for a reservation.
Last year, the seasonal service carried 139,039 passengers, including those heading for Friday Harbor. That figure was down by 0.6 per cent from the previous year.
A total of 141,834 passengers were counted in 2013, up by five per cent from 135,293 in 2012.
On Monday, the Canadian dollar was worth 76 cents US.
Tourism watchers in B.C. are expecting a strong season this year.
“[The ferry service] is a huge economic driver for both our communities on both sides of the water,” said Sidney Mayor Steve Price.
Not all passengers arriving in Sidney stop for a visit, but many “kind of mosey through town and have a look around,” Price said. “We’d like to encourage more to stop.”
Promotion cards are stocked on the ferries to encourage tourists to visit Sidney.
Cliff McNeil-Smith, owner of Tanner’s Books on Beacon Avenue, said the ferry provides a connection between families and businesses on each side of the water. “We do have customers that come back,” he said.
Travellers are not just from Washington state, he said. They may be heading north from Oregon and California. “There’s a large movement of folks up and down the west coast.”
