The Province has asked BC Ferries to give residents and essential service providers priority boarding on Route 19 (and most other routes) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective July 20th, drivers arriving at the Nanaimo terminal will be asked if they fall into one of those categories. Those that don’t will be put on standby and will be allowed to board when there is room. There will be no similar prioritization on the Gabriola side (presumably due to a lack of facilities), and foot passengers will not be affected at either end. ***The Gabriola FAC did not have input into this change and has no further information at this time.***
I’m not sure how the terminal staff are going to be able to deal with that given with overloads vehicles end up lining up on the road…
I like the idea here but… It’s backwards. I think most people including myself need to get off the island in time for work and getting in the line up almost two sailing waits before you have to be in town really puts a damper on your day. I’m not sure what the solution is but this isn’t it.