Riverside Marine鈥檚 V2V Empress ferry between downtown Victoria and downtown 麻豆传媒映画will no longer operate during the winter months.
The company also announced the catamaran will run on a new schedule between Victoria and 麻豆传媒映画as of Sept. 20.
Photograph By DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST
V2V said Monday it has decided to wrap up service this year on Oct. 15 and resume on March 15, citing poor weather in winter months.
The current schedule, which sees the Empress leave Victoria at 9 a.m. and 麻豆传媒映画at 1:30 p.m., will continue until the Sept. 20 schedule shift. At that point, the Empress will leave 麻豆传媒映画at 8 a.m. and Victoria at 4 p.m. That means 麻豆传媒映画passengers will have the option of a day trip to Victoria.
When service resumes next year, the Empress will depart from 麻豆传媒映画at 8 a.m. and leave Victoria at 4:30 p.m.
Julian Wright, V2V general manager, said there has been 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� feedback from industry and passengers in favour of changing the schedule.
More passengers catch the Empress in 麻豆传媒映画than in Victoria, he said.
The decision not to run from mid-October to mid-March is due to the difficult weather the vessel experienced this year. Larger vessels can handle rough waters more easily than the catamaran, Wright said.
Wright is not revealing the ferry鈥檚 passengers numbers, but said the company was 鈥渧ery pleased with the season that we have had.鈥�
Numbers were higher than in 2017, when the vessel ended up spending four months in drydock after it lost an engine.
