Don’t expect to play the slots on BC Ferries
Posted June 8, 2015 12:07 pm.
Last Updated June 8, 2015 3:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It was put forward as a way to help reduce ferry fares, but a hard look has shown that gambling on BC Ferries just isn’t a good idea. It turns out the idea is a money loser.
BCLC ran the numbers and found the program would probably lose in the neighbourhood of $240,000 dollars per year. The equipment, staff and tech support needed would just cost too much. The revenue generated through gambling was meant to subsidize fares.
NDP critic Claire Trevena says looking to gambling to make ferries more affordable was a move in the wrong direction. “”You need to have a government that is looking at ferries as part of the transportation infrastructure and willing to invest in ferries as they invest in bridges and roads and everything else. And secondly, you’ve got to start looking at bringing down fares to increase usership.”
Jef Keigthly with the BC Ferry Coalition calls the plan hair-brained. “It’s like saying ‘Well, we’re going to pay for the Coquihalla Highway by having little stops along the way so you can stop and gamble and empty your wallet’. It was a stupid idea to begin with and kudos on the government for coming to their senses.”
The transportation minister says they’ll still look at some other ways to subsidize fares.
