September’s traffic statistics published recently by BC Ferries show that vehicle traffic was 5.2% up on September 2015 and passenger traffic up 4.2% – confirming that summer 2016 has been the busiest for ferry traffic since 2010, and explaining why our ferry line-ups have been exceptional this year.

Between June and September, more than 129,000 vehicles were carried this year – 5,000 more than last summer, and 8,000 more than Summer 2014, the year following our ferry cuts. The last time our summer ferry traffic was busier was 2010, when nearly 135,000 vehicles were recorded.  Since 2010, ferry traffic has been in steady decline due to the combined effect of high fares and a weakened economy.

Passenger numbers have followed a similar trend – with over 292,000 passengers carried between June and September – up by 5,000 from last year and a massive 15,000 more than Summer 2014 – and the highest since 2010, when 306,000 passengers travelled.

At first sight, this is great news for the longer term sustainability of our ferry service – but we know that traffic on our late evening ferries is stubbornly low and showing little sign of improving. The majority of new traffic appears to be focussed on our daytime ferries – sailings that are already full for much of the year – and in peak summer that simply means longer line-ups and more missed ferries.

Summer 2016 also saw the reinstatement (on a 2-year trial) of the early afternoon weekend sailings during July and August. They appear to have been well used, and will return next year. Once we have detailed traffic numbers from BC Ferries, we aim to provide a detailed appraisal of the impact they have had on weekend traffic.

Monthly traffic statistics can be found on our Route 19 Performance page.