BC Ferries unveils new tools for passengers including top-requested feature
The Easter Long Weekend can be a busy one for travellers around the province, and BC Ferries is encouraging its passengers to utilize its digital tools to help make their next sailings smoother during peak times.
BC Ferries revealed its new tools to assist customers in getting on busy or sold-out sailings.
This includes expanded email alerts for the Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen–Duke Point routes, as well as a waitlist pilot launching on the Powell River–Comox route on Thursday, April 2.
Spirit of British Columbia vessel. (BC Ferries)
“We know how important it is for people to connect over long weekends like Easter, and most customers are already planning ahead to make that happen,” said Melanie Lucia, vice-president of Customer Experience at BC Ferries, in a release.
“Booking early and choosing less busy sailings where possible gives customers more certainty and helps keep everyone moving through the system — especially during busy periods, when demand is high, and we’re operating within a constrained system.”
Sailing alerts, notifying customers when bookable spaces become available on a sailing that was previously sold out, expand to Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen–Duke Point on Thursday, April 2.
The bookings will happen on a first-come, first-served basis, and can also be done with sailing alerts already in use on the Horseshoe Bay–Nanaimo, Horseshoe Bay–Langdale, and Powell River–Comox routes.
StandbildCA/Shutterstock
The waitlist pilot starts on April 2 on the Powell River–Comox route, and allows customers to join a waitlist for a sailing where bookable space is sold out.
Travellers will automatically be booked and charged if space on a sailing becomes available, based on their position in the virtual queue.
In a media release last summer, BC Ferries said that it consulted with over 3,000 customers on how best to support them during changes to the Horseshoe Bay booking process.
That consultation resulted in several primary changes, including the introduction of the Sailing Space Alert as well as the creation of waitlist capability.
“As demand continues to grow on our busiest routes, tools like sailing alerts and waitlists give customers more ways to secure the sailing they want – even when bookable space is initially full,” added Lucia in a statement.
“They notify customers when space becomes available, helping them plan ahead, improve their chances of getting on their preferred sailing, and make better use of available capacity during busy periods.”