To the Editor,
Re: It’s no joke, ferry fares just skyrocketed, April 2.
The above I found interesting to read, however the question becomes, how is it that Ferries Commissioner Martin Crilly can award B.C. Ferries by allowing the corporation to increase fares to the travelling public?
Just weeks before he ruled that B.C. Ferries Services Inc. was using the fact that it is provincially owned to undercut its competitors for B.C.’s drop trailer service. The ferry corporation has an unfair competitive advantage, Crilly ruled.
Why is the travelling public expected to pay for fare increases when B.C. Ferries is undercutting other companies.
All things being fair, if the government is going to give a subsidy to B.C. Ferries to handle drop-trailer business, then the government needs to give the people of Vancouver Island a break on fares.
So there should be no fair increase, but a fair rollback. If we can not get a rollback, then B.C. Ferries needs to get out of the drop-trailer business.
Cal Marshall
via e-mail