It’s going to cost you more to travel on B.C. Ferries this summer.
The company announced Tuesday that it’s cancelling fuel rebates as of June 27 due to rising fuel prices.
The move will increase costs for ferry users by 50 cents for an adult and $1.70 for a vehicle on major routes from the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island.
Costs will increase by 30 cents for an adult and 70 cents for a vehicle on minor routes, the company said.
The rebates of 2.9 per cent on major and minor routes and 1.9 per cent on northern routes have been in place since 2016.
Transportation Minister Claire Trevena initially objected to the company’s plans to cancel the rebates last month, arguing that such as move ran contrary to the NDP government’s promise to freeze ferry fares.
B.C. Ferries agreed to delay its plans after Trevena offered more money to offset rising fuel costs.
But Mark Collins, president and chief executive officer, said in a release today that the company is going ahead with removing the rebates in light of world fuel market conditions.
“Over the past 14 years, we’ve had fuel surcharges, fuel rebates and periods with neither, depending on the market price of diesel fuel, so over the years it has basically been neutral for our customers,” Collins said in a statement.
“We know that the affordability of travel is important to our customers, and we use fuel deferral accounts and fuel hedging as tools to help reduce the impact that fluctuating fuel prices have on the cost of ferry travel.”
The company has said that the fuel rebates were costing anywhere from $750,000 to $1.7 million a month depending on traffic and the time of year.
Trevena, whose mother died recently, was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
Finance Minister Carole James issued a statement expressing disappointment with B.C. Ferries for increasing costs to ferry users.
“Earlier this year we delivered on our commitment to freeze fares by providing B.C. Ferries with $59 million in new funding — the highest increase in more than a decade,” James said.
“We learned B.C. Ferries was planning to remove the fuel rebate and recently entered discussions with the company with hopes of a solution. However, an agreement could not be reached.”
James said her government remains committed to affordability and will review the company’s operations to make sure that it’s working for British Columbians.
As of April 1, the government froze fares on three major routes, reduced them by 15 per cent on all other routes and restored free passenger travel for British Columbia residents age 65 and older from Monday to Thursday.
