It appears the majority of British Columbians are heeding the pleas from Dr. Bonnie Henry to avoid all non-essential this holiday season.
Despite reservations filling up quickly in the weeks leading up to Christmas, B.C. Ferries says they’re seeing a significant drop off in traffic — especially along their major routes like Swartz Bay–Tsawwassen, Duke Point–Tsawwassen, and Departure Bay–Horseshoe Bay.
“Right now we are seeing are vehicle traffic down about 50 per cent and passenger traffic almost 70 per cent on our major routes and we do expect to have quite a slow Christmas,” said B.C. Ferries, spokesperson Deborah Marshall.
While several additional sailings have been added for the holidays, those sailings are down about 75 per cent this year, according to Marshall.
For those who are planning on travelling with BC Ferries, Marshall says they should check for possible cancellations or delays and must respect all staff and comply with mandatory COVID-19 safety protocols.
“If there are policies and whatnot that the crew are explaining to you we would ask that you respect them and that you be courteous and kind to our employees,” she said. “They’re there to do a job, they’re there to get you to the other side safely and we’d ask you to cooperate.”
Meanwhile, at Victoria International Airport, officials say they’re also seeing a steep decline in Passenger Traffic.
A spokesperson for the airport told CHEK News that during the two week stretch between Dec. 21 and Jan. 3, they typically see around 75,000 passengers pass through the terminal but are expecting this year’s number will be somewhere around 10,000.
Ben Nesbit
