Ferry passengers travelling between Fulford and Swartz Bay will have another service change to get used to during the Christmas holiday period, with the Bowen Queen coming onto the route from the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 19 through Jan. 1.
While the change was originally set to take place on the morning of Dec. 20, BC Ferries said the timing of moving three vessels to different ports meant an earlier start was needed. The Queen of Cumberland will sail as planned during the morning schedule on Thursday. The Bowen takes over starting with a 1:15 p.m. sailing out of Swartz Bay.
Since the Bowen is a smaller capacity ship than the Cumberland, changes to the regular schedule are also in effect during the holiday season to accommodate an extra round-trip sailing per day.
Passengers travelling to or from Tsawwassen through Swartz Bay are advised they will not find the same connections as usual. As well, Salt Spring transit service to the Fulford terminal will be not be able to meet the new ferry arrival/departure times during the holiday schedule.
BC Transit said that although it works hard to align its schedules with other transportation services when possible, it was not able to do so in this case.
“BC Ferries did notify BC Transit of the upcoming change in November. Due to a number of factors including time to adjust our schedules and customer information, at this time we plan on keeping our schedules as posted,” said BC Transit communications officer Jonathon Dyck. “We continue to work with BC Ferries and review our internal practices to find ways to create more seamless transportation connections.”
Check bcferries.com for the revised Fulford schedule.