One boat service ends and another one opens

Good news is on the horizon for commuters who use the soon-to-end Blue Boat internal shuttle.

Effective May 1, Victoria Harbour Ferries will step in to replace the Blue Boat run with a 40-passenger ferry service to transport passengers between Colwood F jetty and dockyard, Monday through Friday.

Initially, the service will operate at 20 minute intervals beginning at 6 a.m. and running until 9 a.m. and again from noon to 5:30 p.m. A second ferry will be added on May 14 for transporting, increasing crossing frequency every 10 minutes.

“We are trying to follow the Blue Boat schedule as closely as we can. We are listening to the needs of the passengers and encourage feedback on this service,” says Victoria Harbour Ferries Vice President, Barry Hobbis.

Riders will be offered weekly, monthly and annual pass options. Rates per day on a return trip basis are $5, with fares payable on board; weekly $22.50, monthly passes $80 and annual fares $840 must be purchased online at www.victoriaharbourferries.com where the full schedule is listed.

Base Commander, Capt(N) Craig Baines says, “We are very supportive of Victoria Harbour Ferry Company’s initiative to establish a private enterprise user-pay system as a replacement for the Blue Boat service and are working closely with them as they develop their plan to be up and running May 1.”

A permanent tent with seating, lights and heat will be set up at the departure floats in Colwood as a passenger waiting area. Hobbis said surveys showed between 400 and 700 more cars would be on the road without the boat service across Esquimalt harbour.

“Most people just simply want to get to work and don’t want to drive through the Colwood Crawl,” he says. “This service is what people want.”

Shelley Lipke

 Staff writer

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