Rob Shaw: Count on more of the same Canada Day weekend shambles on BC Ferries
BC Ferries had barely finished explaining Tuesday what went wrong during the disastrous Canada Day long weekend, when it was hit with a new round of questions: What can be done to prevent the same miserable customer experience of long lines and multi-sailing delays from repeating in roughly a month during the even-busier B.C. Day long weekend?
The answer: Pretty much nothing.
Customers are in for enormous waits, frustrations and headaches no matter what actions are taken by the provincial government or BC Ferries over the next month, all sides now admit.
“What we saw this weekend was unacceptable,” said Transportation Minister Rob Fleming. “We have to do better. I said that before the long weekend. We will do better.”
Just not any time soon.
The problems are too big to solve in the short-term, admits everyone in and around BC Ferries. It will take many months, if not years, to build more ships, streamline ticketing and hire enough people to solve a serious staffing shortage. This summer is essentially a write-off for any real, tangible, improvements.
