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3. British Columbia, Canada
3.1 There are 25 regulated and contracted ferry services in British Columbia, Canada, carrying 21.6 million passengers and 8.3 million vehicles each year. In 2002/2003, the services generated $490 million in revenue.
3.2 The set-up and operation of subsidised ferry services to the British Columbia islands were reformed in 2003. The Coastal Ferry Act, which governs the remit of the British Columbia Ferry Commission, places priority on the financial sustainability of the ferry operators, the adoption of a commercial approach to ferry service delivery, fair and open competitive process, operational efficiency without compromising safety compliance, and a movement towards greater reliance on a user pay system to reduce to service fee contributions by the government.
3.3 The British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (
BC Ferries), is the sole operator of regulated ferry services to the islands of British Columbia. Other operators enter the market either as a sub contractor of
BC ferries, or by serving unregulated route (
e.g. Bamfield - Barkley Sound - Port Alberni).
3.4 Through a 60 year contract, the government pays
BC Ferries a defined annual subsidy or "service fee" in return for making specified numbers of ferry sailings on specified routes, with a maximum total value of some $106 million per year. The major routes (the three routes between Vancouver Island and the
BC Lower Mainland) are self-supporting and receive no service fee from provincial taxpayer funds.
3.5 The current contract has not been tendered. The result represents the end of the natural process of the provision of services in British Columbia.
3.6 The case study on British Columbia is in
Appendix A of this report.
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