No service reductions yet for Prince Rupert - Haida Gwaii, Port Hardy BC Ferry service, as southern routes reduced by 50%

BC Ferry Service out of Fairview Bay in Prince Rupert
will continue on the winter schedule,  with no
reductions for the Northern Service announced as of yet

BC Ferries has announced some significant Service adjustments today as part of their ongoing response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In an information statement released this morning, BC Ferries announced the reduction by close to 50 percent for many of the major transits between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, the moves which will go into effect this Saturday will remain in place for at least the next sixty days.

“These changes are designed to ensure we have sufficient capacity to allow the flow of essential goods, services, supplies and workers to their destinations. We will continue to transport the goods communities rely on, and we will get people to where they need to go.” -- Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ President and CEO. 

The service reductions will not be implemented for those routes on the Northern Service, with the schedule of sailings from Prince Rupert to and from Haida Gwaii, the Central Coast and Port Hardy to remain as it is for now, operating on the current off-peak, Winter schedule.

BC Ferries did advise however that the Summer Service between Bella Coola and Port Hardy will not be introduced at this time.

The BC Ferries President also paid tribute to the work of the Ferry service employees during this challenging period for BC Ferries and the province.

“Through this challenging time, our employees have demonstrated courage and determination to support coastal ferry service. Unfortunately, these service level reductions will result in temporary layoffs for hundreds of dedicated and loyal employees. Our goal is to keep the temporary layoffs to as short as possible. We need all these skilled people back as soon as possible to help restore ferry services when traffic returns.”

The reduced schedule will however make for a significant number of layoffs for those employees, with up to 1,400 plus set to be sidelined as a result.

You can review the full statement from Mr. Collins here.

The winter schedule for transit out of Prince Rupert can be viewed here.

For more notes on Marine Transportation on the North Coast see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.