Established under the province’s Coastal Ferry Act of 2003, the Commission regulates fares and service levels of the ferry operator British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (BC Ferries) on 25 saltwater routes.
The Commission is independent of both the provincial government and of BC Ferries. In the course of its regulatory activities, the Commission is obliged to follow six principles in protecting the public interest, which are set out in section 38 of the Act. These principles define what is meant by the public interest in providing coastal ferry services and are as follows:
- priority is to be placed on the financial sustainability of the ferry operators;
- ferry operators are to be encouraged to adopt a commercial approach to ferry service delivery;
- ferry operators are to be encouraged to seek additional or alternative service providers on designated ferry routes through fair and open competitive processes;
- ferry operators are to be encouraged to minimize expenses without adversely affecting their safe compliance with core ferry services;
- cross subsidization from major routes to other designated ferry routes is (i) to be eliminated within the first performance term of the first Coastal Ferry Services Contract to be entered into under this Act, and (ii) before its elimination, to be minimized;
- the designated ferry routes are to move towards a greater reliance on a user pay system so as to reduce, over time, the service fee contributions by the government.
The Commission is not an ombudsperson acting on your behalf to resolve any private dispute you may have with the company, nor an advocate to help communities and particular interest groups to lobby government. It is not a general complaints or compliments department for BC Ferries. Click here to provide direct feedback to BC Ferries.
See “contact us” for a diagram showing avenues for public input on the ferry system.
Each year the Commission publishes an annual report and service plan and budget. Click here for a list of the commission’s annual reports and service plans and budgets.
In future, the Commission will be:
- issuing a finding on BC Ferries’ process for handling customer complaints, which the Commission’s approval is required under section 45.2 of the Coastal Ferry Act;
- starting April 1, 2011, regulating BC Ferries’ Drop Trailer Services on its major routes by means of a minimum allowed average tariff as ordered in Commission Order 11-01 (under section 45.1 of the Coastal Ferry Act, which concerns unfair competitive advantage);
- responding to an appeal initiated by Seaspan Ferries Corporation on the above Order;
- continuing through 2011, a review of fare caps for performance term three, which is the four years starting April 1, 2012. Here is a timeline of steps for the review (a one-page pdf file). A period for public comment is open from April 1 to June 30 2011;
- every three months, reviewing the quarterly reports of BC Ferries to determine (1) if it is meeting the service requirements in its contract with the Province, (2) what changes have occurred in the quality of service as measure by on-time performance and the number of full sailings which leave customers behind, and (3) if the actual fares charged are within the allowed maximums (or price caps) for each of seven groups of routes. For historical graphs of actual fares vs. caps for each route group click here
- reviewing and considering (at any time) any applications for extraordinary price cap increases;
- monitoring what information BC Ferries provides to the public;
- reviewing and considering any applications by BC Ferries for reductions in service (temporary reductions would occur immediately);
- reviewing and considering any applications by BC Ferries for route discontinuation. The determination process takes 9 months;
- determining whether to deregulate a route, i.e. remove the route designation for a route upon which sufficient competition exists so that regulation of that route is no longer necessary;
- ordering inspections of the records of BC Ferries as necessary;
- issuing orders for non-compliance with the legislation as necessary;
- handling any BC Ferries applications for a declaration by the Commission that a capital expenditure is “reasonably required”; and
- publishing every decision, determination, order or proceeding made by the Commission.
