BC Ferries’ website, Twitter showing discrepancies in sailing waits
Posted July 27, 2023 8:58 am.
Last Updated July 27, 2023 1:53 pm.
Although BC Ferries declared problems with its website had been fixed, its website and Twitter profiles are showing wildly different sailing wait times for some routes Thursday.
BC Ferries’ website says there is a seven sailing wait on the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay run, but on Twitter, the ferry service says it’s a one to two sailing wait.
The BC Ferries website is having accuracy problems Thursday. (Courtesy Twitter)
The BC Ferries website is having accuracy problems Thursday. (Courtesy BC Ferries)
The corporation’s website and Twitter account began to show discrepancies at around 8 a.m., with further sailings showing “full” as the morning progressed.
In a statement to CityNews, BC Ferries says its Current Conditions is “a forecasting tool that projects available space at a particular point in time.”
In speaking with CityNews, BC Ferries explains it is aware of the discrepancies, and knows that the predictions are incorrect.
The ferry service says its Twitter account provides real-time updates on sailing waits reported in by terminal managers, and according to the service, provides the most accurate information.
The BC Ferries website is having accuracy problems Thursday. (Courtesy Twitter)
Despite repeated attempts to secure an interview, BC Ferries later told CityNews in another statement that no one was unavailable Thursday morning. Spokesperson Karen Johnston says in an email until the Coastal Celebration returns to service, “we will report out how many stand by vehicles were accommodated by sailing via social media.”
“Traffic volumes are very high on the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay route. There is limited space for customers travelling without advance bookings (stand by vehicles). Current Conditions provides a prediction of expected wait time for customers in stand by vehicles.
“Our terminal and vessel crews are doing their best to load as many stand by vehicles as possible on every sailing. If they can load more vehicles than expected, wait times will be shorter than predicted. Please support their efforts by following the directions of loading crew and parking within 60 cm of the vehicle in front of you,” Johnston wrote.
Despite this, it remains unclear why inaccurate information continues to be on the website.
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The challenges come as BC Ferries’ website showed a nine sailing wait Tuesday, in what the corporation called “not accurate.”
This incident is 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.
A day after the major website mishap inaccurately told customers there was a nine-sailing wait, the province’s transportation minister says he’s been “assured” a similar situation “won’t be happening happen again.”
Minister Rob Fleming says the corporation chalked up the communication failure Tuesday to old technology.
“Technology and a complete overhaul is one of the strategic goals of the new CEO and it can’t come fast enough. What happened yesterday, they have assured our ministry, will be fixed within a week,” he said Wednesday.
According to Fleming, in addition to addressing technology shortfalls, BC Ferries has also committed to fixes on multiple fronts, including staffing.
However, he admits this sort of thing “doesn’t happen overnight.”
“That is no comfort to anyone who is on a multiple-sailing wait right now, but we’ve got to continue to make progress and get better and get through this summer as best we can, and I know it will get better,” the minister explained.
The mayor of Nanaimo has also come out complaining about the ongoing problems at BC Ferries, saying the issues continue to pile up and not go away.
“The unreliability of the service is very frustrating. It’s not like we can turn to another highway, so to speak. It is the highway to the Island for most people,” he told CityNews.
