BC Ferries says it will remove the 1.5 per cent fuel surcharge currently added to fares as of Tuesday, Dec. 17.
“The recent decrease in the price of fuel allows us to eliminate the fuel surcharges, which is great news for travellers,” said Alana Gallagher, vice president and chief financial officer. “We understand that affordability is important to our customers, and every bit helps.”
For the past 15 years BC Ferries has been monitoring the price of fuel and applying a rebate or surcharge, or neither, to manage the volatility in the price of fuel.
When fuel prices are lower, it results in a rebate, and when they are higher, a fuel surcharge is implemented to cover the additional cost of fuel. “The company does not benefit financially from surcharges or rebates,” it said in a release announcing the decision to end the current surcharge
The release also pointed out that BC Ferries now has five vessels operating on liquefied natural gas, which is a cleaner and less expensive fuel than diesel fuel. The company also has two electric battery hybrid vessels set to enter service next year on the Powell River-Texada Island and Port McNeill-Alert Bay-Sointula routes.
