BC Ferries recently transitioned to 100 per cent passenger-load capacity as demand increases. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

full capacity

BC Ferries back to full passenger capacity, mask wearing policy applied to all routes

Jul 11, 2020 | 7:39 AM

NANAIMO — BC Ferries is no longer operating at half-passenger capacity as the company makes adjustments to serve rising demand.

The company’s Deborah Marshall said they are still abiding by Transport Canada regulations, which stipulates alternate measures to reduce the COVID-19.

“With removing restrictions of essential travel only, we knew that our traffic would pick up. We wanted to ensure we could carry the maximum number of passengers that we could safely,” Marshall told NaniamoNewsNOW.

She said customers over the age of two must wear face coverings if physical distancing is not possible on all of their vessels.

Previously the face covering rule only applied to sailings more than 30 minutes long, which are a majority of BC Ferry routes.

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Mask wearing does not apply if customers are in their vehicle.

BC Ferries added more than 300 sailings in July to its major routes compared to a drastically scaled down schedule in June.

On Friday, July 10, BC Ferries added two additional sailings on the Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay route on Fridays and Sundays.

The new sailing leaves Departure Bay at 12:35 p.m., while another sailing returns from Horseshoe Bay at 7:50 p.m.

The normally busy route was shut down for two months in early April due to a sudden sharp reduction of passengers by roughly 80 per cent.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes