BC Ferries identifies four potential passenger-only ferry routes in long-term plan
“The introduction of the privately owned Hullo Ferry between Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver suggests that passenger-only ferries may be commercially viable,” reads the long-range plan.
“Passenger-only ferries that operate in corridors with existing vehicle-carrying ferry service may provide a more convenient alternative, and as a result, attract some demand and fare revenues from the underlying ferry service and air services. New passenger-only ferry routes could be operated by other operators or BC Ferries. Over time, a mix of operators could strengthen the coastal ferry system, introduce more innovations and efficiencies into the system and offer customers more choice.”
Hullo Ferries’ downtown Vancouver terminal on Aug. 4, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)
In the vision, BC Ferries listed a total of four potential passenger-only ferry routes to consider for implementation.
One of those passenger-only ferry routes is between Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver, which has been operated by Hullo Ferries since August 2023 with multiple roundtrips daily.
Another potential route is between Victoria/Saanich Peninsula to Vancouver International Airport/Sea Island. Hullo Ferries previously told Daily Hive Urbanized it has plans to eventually launch a second high-speed passenger-only ferry service between its current hub in downtown Vancouver and Victoria/Saanich Peninsula — after it secures more vessels to support such a new service and to further improve its existing Nanaimo route.
The remaining two passenger-only ferry routes mentioned in the vision run between the Sunshine Coast and downtown Vancouver and between Bowen Island and downtown Vancouver. Both of these routes are already slated to be fulfilled by Greenline Ferries, a startup company aiming to launch its passenger-only services as early as 2027.
Map in the Charting The Course 2050 vision of four potential passenger-only ferry routes. (BC Ferries)
Hullo Ferries currently uses a fleet of 350-seat, high-speed catamaran vessels, which complete a trip each way in roughly 70 minutes and reach speeds of up to 74 km/h (40 knots) in the Strait of Georgia’s open waters.
As for Greenline Ferries, its catamaran vessels with a lower operating speed are projected to achieve end-to-end travel times of 40 minutes to Bowen Island and 70 minutes to the Sunshine Coast from downtown Vancouver.
Greenline Ferries has collaborated with international naval designers on a battery-electric vessel design that seats 150 passengers and provides space for up to 20 bicycles. They plan to order an initial fleet of two vessels. Their operations will also include floating barges that serve as both passenger terminals and charging stations for the vessels.
Hullo Ferries’ dock in downtown Vancouver is located in front of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building, while Greenline Ferries plans to adapt the existing Harbour Green Dock in Coal Harbour.
Concept design of the battery-electric vessel for Greenline Ferries. (BMT/Greenline Ferries)
Concept of Greenline Ferries’ charge barge dock at Gibson Landing. (Boniface Oleksiuk Politano Architects/3GA Marine/Greenline Ferries)
Planned routes for Greenline Ferries linking downtown Vancouver with Bowen Island’s Seymour Bay and the Sunshine Coast’s Gibsons Harbour Landing. (Greenline Ferries)
According to BC Ferries, out of the 25 routes it currently operates, it only has one route with a passenger-only ferry vessel. The existing fleet is generally oriented around the transport of vehicles as an extension of the provincial highway system, with foot passengers being a secondary consideration.
But in the vision, BC Ferries notes that passenger-only ferries have different advantages, such as lower capital and ongoing operating costs from the use of smaller vessels, smaller berth and road access requirements, and the ability for better integration with public transit services and pedestrian and cycling infrastructure — especially when such services have terminals in highly central locations, such as city centres.
Combined, this can reduce overall travel times for some passengers when the ground transportation travel times are included, such as the current travel times on the road to/from the rural ferry terminal locations in Tsawwassen, Horseshoe Bay, and Swartz Bay.
For these reasons, states the ferry corporation, it should “explore passenger-only ferry routes where travel time advantages or capacity constraints justify it.”
Hullo Ferries’ Nanaimo terminal. (Hullo Ferries)
Hullo Ferries’ Nanaimo terminal. (Hullo Ferries)
In the meantime, as the first step over the short term, BC Ferries wants to roll out strategies that help increase the share of foot and bike passengers on its existing vessels and routes.
This includes working closely with TransLink, BC Transit, and provincial and municipal governments to better integrate BC Ferries with public transit and shared services, improving the foot passenger experience at the ferry terminals, improving real-time information about bus public transit-ferry connections, piloting new bus public transit services or on-demand bus shuttle services, and incentivizing foot passengers through variable ferry fares.
“Passengers choose their mode of travel based on several factors including costs, time, convenience and comfort. By improving travel for foot, biking, rolling and transit customers or incentivizing customers to carpool, BC Ferries can increase the ratio of passengers to vehicles across the system, reducing pressure on vehicle capacity,” reads the vision.
“Providing clear and easy to find information on conditions for different sailings can help customers make better decisions on mode of travel.”
This vision running through 2050 notes that many of BC Ferries’ existing vessels will likely need to be replaced over the coming decades, due to the age of the fleet. This is an opportunity to begin rethinking the ferry network to be more oriented around passengers.
Without the implementation of new strategies or investments to improve capacity, BC Ferries anticipates the number of routes facing “potential service risk” or “known service risk” will rise to 13 by 2035 and 17 by 2050.
Future risk map of BC Ferries routes. (BC Ferries)
As well, high population growth and continued densification in coastal areas will continue to add to demand, along with economic and tourism growth and the interest in outdoor recreation opportunities.
For a wide range of reasons, previous attempts by the private sector to launch high-speed, passenger-only ferry services between Vancouver Island and downtown Vancouver failed between the 1970s and 2000s.
But the success of Hullo Ferries lends itself to the fact that there is now both unmet revealed demand and latent demand, supported by a sufficient critical mass in population and tourists, as well as economic growth. It has also become a viable option for hybrid or remote office workers who live in or near Nanaimo but commute to offices in downtown Vancouver.
Hullo Ferries anticipates it will reach its milestone of welcoming one million cumulative passengers this month, with its second year of operations seeing a 40 per cent ridership jump compared to the inaugural year.
In 2019, an independent report commissioned by the provincial government suggested the consideration of building a new ferry terminal on Iona Island — located just northwest of Sea Island/Vancouver International Airport.
Hullo Ferries
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