A few people attempting to travel for non-essential reasons were turned away by the province’s largest ferry operator this weekend.
According to BC Ferries, a “handful” of potential customers were denied boarding on various routes due to newly imposed provincial travel restrictions limiting non-essential travel to within one’s health authority.
“There were a handful of customers that we did deny travel on some of the routes that connect through the different zones,” said Deborah Marshall, BC Ferries’ executive director of public affairs. “But I think that was more of a matter of education that those particular customers weren’t fully aware of.”
Specific numbers were not disclosed by BC Ferries, but the company did say vehicle volumes declined by a quarter fleet-wide while passenger volumes dropped even more over the weekend.
“Our traffic was down about 25 per cent further in vehicles and about 30 per cent fewer in passengers,” said Marshall.
The drop in traffic follows an announcement by the province’s solicitor general, Mike Farnworth, who warned on Friday that people could be fined as much as $575 if they are caught breaking new travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Nanaimo RCMP told CHEK News that no fines were handed out by their officers over the weekend.
Travel restrictions will remain in effect until after the May long weekend.
Skye Ryan
