The ferry corporation is on the right course in replacing its outdated computer systems to allow more flexibility in rates and sailings, but the upgraded technology carries with it some risks of rough water.
Passengers now show up at B.C. Ferries terminals, pay the fare and drive or walk aboard. Sometimes there isn鈥檛 room for everyone. To avoid being left behind to wait for the next sailing, passengers can make reservations, but they pay extra for that privilege.
Under the new system, passengers making reservations will be charged the normal fare, and it will be the show-and-go customers who will pay extra.
The aim is to more closely match capacity with demand. Extra sailings are now ordered as needed at the discretion of operations managers, but that requires vessels and crews to be on standby, which adds to costs. The ferries commission says the system is inefficient, as it 鈥渙nly works to reduce the duration of sailing waits, rather than to prevent them.鈥�
If passengers are persuaded to book and buy ahead, capacity and demand will be matched more accurately, and the number of discretionary sailings can be reduced, reasons the commission.
The system could also allow the tailoring of fares to encourage passengers to travel at less-busy times, which would reduce the number of sailings with few cars aboard.
Airlines operate this way. You get your best price by booking ahead and expect to pay considerably more if you show up at the airport and buy your ticket just before the flight.
But people don鈥檛 usually regard airlines and ferry systems in the same light.
For most highway travellers, a ferry crossing is just one piece of the journey. It鈥檚 not always easy to determine which ferry sailing to take, especially for long-distance travellers. Snow could close the Coquihalla or plans could be disrupted by long lines at the Peace Arch border crossing.
Or, on a whim, plans could change because someone wants to take a side trip to enjoy more of beautiful British Columbia.
Being tied to a ferry reservation would discourage that sort of flexibility.
Ferry traffic has diminished as fares have risen; tacking on a penalty for show-and-go travellers isn鈥檛 likely to help. If there鈥檚 a penalty for last-minute travel, fewer people are likely to observe that it鈥檚 a nice day and why not take a trip to Saltspring Island or the Mainland?
In April 2014, B.C. Ferries made changes to its reservation system. The fee for reservations made the day of departure increased to $22 from $18.50, but those making reservations more than seven days ahead pay only $15.
That makes sense, except that those wise enough to make reservations still pay extra for their wisdom, even when reserving a week or more in advance, while those who just show up and drive on pay the regular fare.
The proposed changes would correct that anomaly. But it鈥檚 a carrot-and-stick approach 鈥� B.C. Ferries should consider using a little more carrot and a little less stick.
Already-rising fares will jump further for last-minute passengers. Simply deducting the non-refundable reservation fee from the fare 鈥� with a discount for booking ahead 鈥� would do much to encourage reservations without penalizing drive-ons.
It鈥檚 punishment enough to know that you risk missing a sailing if you don鈥檛 have a reservation.
A new computer system will give the ferry corporation much-needed flexibility in matching capacity to demand, but care should be taken that the system works for the benefit of passengers, and isn鈥檛 perceived as an opportunity to raise fares.
