BC Ferries Commissioner Sets Fare Hike
BC Ferries Commissioner Gord Macatee has set the increase in price caps for ferry services at 1.9 per cent per year from April 1, 2016 through March 31, 2020 in his Preliminary Decision on Price Caps for the Fourth Performance Term.
“These price caps establish rate stability and certainty for ferry travellers for the four years beginning April 2016. In an environment with a $3 billion capital program required, coupled with significant costs to deliver safe and reliable ferry service, being able to keep fares at or below the rate of inflation is a major accomplishment,” said BC Ferries’ President and CEO, Mike Corrigan.
The announcement came within the Commissioner’s Performance Review of the Efficiency of BC Ferries, along with several other review and assessment reports released on Wednesday.
The review found that administrative expenses have declined by 15.1 per cent since 2009; executive compensation was at the low end of the four largest provincial crown corporations that BC Ferries was compared with and was appropriate for an organization of its size and complexity; the management structure was appropriate; and overtime hours and absenteeism rates have declined, the ferry company informed.
BC Ferries said it expects to significantly exceed the $54 million efficiency target set by the Commissioner for Performance Term Three by approximately $30 million, and ferry users are adapting to revised service levels, which has improved capacity utilization.
