BC Ferries faces challenges head on with creativity and innovation
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce hosted the final event in its 2024 Business Leaders Series, with a breakfast with BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at the Union Club of BC in Victoria.
More than 100 business and community leaders attended the breakfast, which featured a presentation by Jimenez followed by a Q&A session with Chamber CEO Bruce Williams and questions from the audience.
Jimenez addressed the recent news that BC Ferries was changing its advisory committee structure, as well as a call to add five new ships to the fleet.
“We know that BC Ferries has been working to improve how they manage their sailings, which is really important to businesses that transport groceries and other goods to the Island. I think our members appreciated hearing Nicolas explain how those improvements have resulted in fewer cancellations and better certainty for business,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “However, the ferry system has served the province for six decades and still has ships and terminals that were built in the 1960s. The Chamber is supportive of the work BC Ferries is doing to modernize its fleet and introduce efficiencies that will ensure future generations have an even stronger and more environmentally sustainable transportation link.”
Jimenez spoke about the importance of BC Ferries for people and families. The bulk of passengers are travelling for work, to attend appointments or visit family members. Tourism make up a smaller but vital segment of BC Ferries total passenger base, he said.
Going forward, the ferry operator understands it needs creativity and collaboration to address its challenges.
“If we are to close this funding gap that I described, we’re going to need to pull every lever that we can,” Jimenez told the Times Colonist. “We’re going to have to get very creative and we’re going to have to balance the needs of the system around reliability and resilience with affordability.
“So without prejudging what that’s going to look like, I think we’re going to have to have all policy options on the table.”
