BC Ferries website problems resolved, corporation says

The problems which plagued BC Ferries’ booking system Tuesday have been fixed, the company says.

The provincial ferry service says everything is back to normal after major problems saw its website show a nine-sailing wait for the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route as of 6 a.m.

It says its booking system was to blame.

After working on a resolution overnight, BC Ferries says its data Wednesday morning is all correct.

Karen Johnston, executive director of communications and engagement for BC Ferries, said Tuesday it was often only a one-to-two-sailing wait.

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“What we were seeing represented on Current Conditions simply wasn’t matching up with what knew was happening at the terminal,” she said.

“When the Coastal Celebration was pulled from service because of a hydraulic oil leak, we increased our reservation allocations, our booking allocations, to maximize and to honor those reservations as best we could on the other three sailings.

“So Current Conditions, which is the system that travellers might use to see what is booked, how much space is available, it assumes that once you’ve made a booking that you’re going to actually show up for that booking, so it holds space for all bookings made up until the cutoff time when you reach the terminal,” she explained. “This morning, what happened was we saw a high number of those with reservations not show up at the terminal for their sailing. So what, in fact, was the situation at Tsawwassen was that most of our morning traffic was cleared by 11 a.m. with most passengers in the morning experiencing a one to two sailing wait. ”

This incident was just the latest in a string of challenges for BC Ferries this year, as ferry goers see major delays, ferries out of service, and short staffing.

In a statement from the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Rob Fleming says he fully understands the challenges and frustrations people are facing as they try to use the ferry service.

“BC Ferries staff has been doing their best to accommodate travellers, but the Coastal Celebration’s mechanical issue couldn’t have come at a worse time for residents, visitors, and those who rely upon our coastal tourism industry,” the statement reads.

“I understand BC Ferries is working quickly to get the vessel repaired and back into service as soon as possible. I have spoken directly to the CEO about his plans to address these and other ongoing issues and what our government can do to support the corporation.”