The first line from the recent Globe and Mail article about the BC Ferries trouble sums it all up - “Another week, another service disruption for B.C. Ferries and its passengers.”
So what are the alternatives? Have you tried the various services like Helijet or West Coast Air?
Helijets website has this blurb:
Helijet is proud to have been a part of the growth of British Columbia for the past two decades.
In November 1986, armed with a vision, one helicopter and handful of dedicated employees Helijet began commuter service between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria. The first scheduled helicopter service in Canada!
From that one helicopter and one route we have grown into a publicly traded company offering a wide range of scheduled and charter services with a fleet of 10 helicopters and airplanes and over 100 employees.
They really have an exceptional service available. We’ve used it many times!
West Coast Air is one we haven’t tried, yet. But we will it looks fantastic. From the website:
A locally owned and operated airline with more than 35 years of Twin Otter scheduled service experience, West Coast Air offers up to 40 Twin Otter departures daily between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria. The company provides a convenient link to Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast communities, and includes service to Whistler during the summer season and will soon be announcing details on a daily scheduled flight to Courtenay/Comox.
Our scheduled service appeals to both business and leisure travelers, while also enjoying a wide variety of adventure and scenic tours from Vancouver, Victoria and Sechelt. Charters flights are available to all your favourite southcoast destinations including Butchart Gardens, Whistler, Tofino, Campbell River and more.
West Coast Air terminals are centrally located. In Vancouver, our temporary location is just west of Canada Place in Coal Harbour (until 2008 when the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre and Marine Terminal are complete), in Richmond at the YVR Floatplane Base, in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, in Nanaimo Harbour on Anchor Way and in Sechelt, on Wharf Street beside the Lighthouse Pub.
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I would take Helijet or HarbourAir if I had a car stashed over on the island. It costs $90 to take the ferry over now (for 2 people + car) and that’s like the same price as taking the Helijet.
On a sidenote one of my dream jobs would be to work for Helijet and fly them around and also do local air tours.