To the Editor,
I frequently ride the ferry between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale and it is always overcrowded. People always have a one sailing wait (or more) at either end of the route. I know that a lot of people do ride this ferry from Sunshine Coast to get to Vancouver Island via Horseshoe Bay.
I think the solution to this problem is to have a ferry run directly from Langdale to Nanaimo. This would reduce overcrowding on the Langdale to Horseshoe Bay ferry and on the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry. Plus this ferry would connect Vancouver Island with the lower half of the Sunshine Coast. It would also save travel time between the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.
With travelling from the Sunshine Coast to Vancouver Island, the first ferry takes 40 minutes to get to Horseshoe Bay and the second takes one hour and 35 minutes to Nanaimo for a total of two hours and 15 minutes. A direct ferry route from Langdale to Nanaimo would be much faster than going via Horseshoe Bay.
A new route would bring new customers onto BC Ferries and would therefore boost tourism on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast: people who live on the Sunshine Coast but never travel to Vancouver Island and vice versa.
Our population is growing here on the south coast, and with that, so is ridership on the ferries, as well as the need for a new ferry connecting Langdale to Nanaimo.
What do Vancouver Islanders think? Should there be a ferry running from Langdale to Nanaimo?
Would it help reduce overcrowding on the ferries connecting Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay and Horseshoe Bay to Langdale? Would it help boost tourism on the Sunshine Coast?
Please consider writing a letter to the editor and reach out to your local political representatives to let them know that you want a ferry connecting Langdale to Nanaimo.
Ian Dewar McPherson,
Richmond
