On the busy Remembrance Day long weekend there was one Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry sailing that had 50 unredeemed reservations.
It鈥檚 one of the reasons why BC Ferries is planning 鈥渧ariable-priced fares鈥� for its three major routes between 麻豆传媒映画Island and the Lower Mainland.
The Queen of New Westminster is slated for replacement in about five years (Lindsay William-Ross/麻豆传媒映画)
鈥淲e might offer variable pricing if you book a discounted fare at our off-peak time and fully prepaid for that,鈥� said BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall. 鈥淎nd then this issue of no-shows will certainly be a lot less frequent than it is now.鈥�
The changes are to be introduced in the spring and BC Ferries hopes they will help to balance out sailing loads.
鈥淲hile some [fares] may be a little bit more, that allows us to offer a discount so we balance out,鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淭he less popular sailings would be cheaper, for example. If we can attract customers to travel at a less popular times, if they are more flexible with their travel times, that would generally free up more popular times. It鈥檚 demand management.鈥�
However, the drive-up or standard rate will not vary depending on time of day and day of week, Marshall said.
鈥淭his will not be 鈥榮urge鈥� pricing where the cost increases as inventory is reduced.鈥�
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e been finding is customers are booking multiple reservations 鈥� we assume because they are cheaper than they used to be,鈥� said Marshall. 鈥淭hey may not know exactly what sailing they want to travel on so they might book the 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. sailing. They鈥檒l show up for one and they won鈥檛 cancel the second one.鈥�
Currently, reservations cost $10 if booked more than seven days in advance, $17 if less than seven days, and $21 for same-day.
In the spring, reservation fees were reduced to $10 from $15 for customers booking at least a week in advance 鈥� part of $78 million in fare reductions as part of an agreement between the ferry corporation and the B.C. government to make ferry travel more affordable.
鈥淚f they prepay their fare in full, they will be less likely to no-show,鈥� said Marshall. 鈥淩ight now, $10 is proving not to be an incentive to cancel.鈥�
BC Ferries is obliged to keep a reservation until 30 minutes prior to sailing; only then is it able to open up the space.
鈥淏ecause we have that [uncancelled] reservation in our system when you look at our website it will have that reservation included,鈥� said Marshall. 鈥淚t artificially inflates the wait times for standby traffic.鈥�
As BC Ferries traffic has increased over the past several years, customers have been booking more reservations.
鈥淔ive years ago you could look on the website on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay run and there was always space available and now you look and the reservations are fully subscribed already,鈥� said Marshall.
The amount of reservable spaces varies between 45 per cent and 75 per cent depending on factors including the sailing time, size of vessel, and ratio of expected commercial vehicles versus private cars.
鈥淭he reservation, it would all be rolled in, you wouldn鈥檛 be paying a separate reservation fee and it wouldn鈥檛 be as high as $21,鈥� said Marshall. 鈥淭he farther you book in advance, the more opportunity there would be for the variable pricing,鈥� said Marshall.
Last year, BC Ferries carried its largest number of passengers since 2008, and more vehicles than any year since 2010.
Reservation fees brought in $18 million for the corporation, which had total revenue of $859 million in 2017.
鈥淲e will be rolling out a new pricing structure next year and we鈥檙e still working out the details,鈥� said Marshall. 鈥淲e plan to seek customer feedback as we roll out the new structure.鈥�
