The Committee of FAC Chairs (FACC)  has today responded to the end-of-year results posted by BC Ferries last week.

In a press statement issued today, FACC were cautious in their response to the BC Ferries report which predicted that the corporation would “return to profitability in 2014” assuming no further fall in traffic.  Vehicle traffic on BC Ferries has fallen to a 13-year low, with passenger traffic the lowest for 21 years – and yet there is no immediate sign that this decline is leveling out. Passenger and vehicle traffic on the Gabriola route fell by more than 4% in the year to March 2012.

FACC warns that the current high level of fares is unlikely to deliver the sort of traffic growth that BC Ferries needs to return to profitability.  If their traffic decline continues, the pressure for further fares increases (or service cuts) will become even stronger.