The B.C. ferry corporation plans to ban passengers from lower vehicle decks during sailings, and that is sure to be a difficult change to make — especially since passengers on the upper deck won’t be affected.
During boarding, for example, many drivers want to be on the left side of the top deck, which would put them in the preferred lane when they disembark at Swartz Bay or Tsawwassen. From time to time, as vehicles are being loaded, we see drivers shuffling into the other lane. What will happen when the stakes are higher, and people realize they are doomed to be on the lower deck? Will they plead with Ferries staff, or just try to switch lanes on their own?
This change will seem arbitrary. Some passengers simply want to be left alone, for whatever reason. If they end up on the upper vehicle deck, they can have their wish. If they are forced to take the lower deck, they will need to go up three or four levels and try to find a quiet corner.
How will new rule be enforced? Ferries staff will have to go from vehicle to vehicle to roust people. But what will happen when people try to beat the system, by staying in an SUV with tinted windows, or a van? What happens then?
Safety is a prime concern, and that is understandable — but this change is bound to create other problems.
We have become used, over the decades, to staying in our cars when the mood hits us. This will be a tough habit to break.
