Many Vancouverites looking to leave the city for the May long weekend waited for hours to board their ferries on Friday and Saturday, despite BC Ferries adding dozens of extra sailings.
Travellers who didn’t make reservations ahead of time were caught off guard by the volume of vehicles and walk-on passengers waiting to get onto the vessels.
“Everybody’s going away for the weekend, so I thought getting the 8 o’clock or the 5 o’clock might be crowded,” said one man.
Some, however, made the most of the wait.
“If you want to spend $15 to make a reservation…it’s pretty easy and it’s totally worth it, especially if you’ve got kids, family or you’ve got to be somewhere in a hurry, whereas obviously I don’t,” said one ferry-goer at Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal who used the time to clean his truck.
BC Ferries announced last week it would add a total of 89 extra sailings on its most popular routes for the Victoria Day long weekend, including 60 extra sailings from the Tsawwassen terminal.
Reservations cost $10 if booked at least a week in advance.
The latest information on ferry departures and wait times is available on BC Ferries’ twitter feed. Current conditions, including webcams at major ferry terminals, are available on the company’s website.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Julie Nolin
