In Turbulent Waters: British Columbia Ferry Service Inc., 1985-2012

BC Ferries is a provincially owned and operated provider of marine transportation services in British Columbia on Canada’s Pacific West coast. In 2012, it moved over 20 million people and 7.8 million vehicles and is a critical component of the provinces’ transportation infrastructure. Almost one-third of the province’s population is dependent on it services and as such both it, and its operations, are highly sensitive political concerns for the government of BC. It is a firm that faces significant challenges since it has large capital expenses, a very high and rigid operational cost structure and, most critically, its user rates have been stagnant for the last twenty years, due to structural factors outside of its control. As such, both its operational and subsidy costs have grown in proportion to its user numbers, and its fares, too, have increased considerably. Despite efforts to depoliticize this firm’s operations, and to make it an independent operating entity, this is a futile exercise given the intense popular and political sensitivities surrounding its operations.