Travellers on BC Ferries will have to pay slightly more money for their trips beginning later this month, as the company has announced it is axing their fuel rebate program.
Blaming the change on world fuel market conditions, BC Ferries says it is removing all fuel rebates currently in place on June 27, 2018, meaning travellers on many routes will have to pay roughly three per cent more.
The fuel rebate program had been in place since the spring of 2016 and often changes between a rebate or surcharge depending on the volatility in the price of fuel. BC Ferries says they do not benefit financially from this mechanism.
The removal of the fuel rebate means those travelling on the Metro Vancouver-Vancouver Island route will pay $0.50 more per person and an additional $1.70 per vehicle.
Those travelling on a variety of northern, or other minor routes will pay an additional $0.30 per person and $.70 per vehicle.
“Over the past 14 years, we’ve had fuel surcharges, fuel rebates and periods with neither, depending on the market price of diesel fuel, so over the years it has basically been neutral for our customers,” said Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ president and CEO.
“We know that the affordability of travel is important to our customers, and we use fuel deferral accounts and fuel hedging as tools to help reduce the impact that fluctuating fuel prices have on the cost of ferry travel.”
BC Ferries says it closely monitors the cost of fuel and applies a rebate or surcharge based on the volatility in price of fuel under a regulatory process that is independent of tariffs.
