BC Ferries to add fuel surcharge to sailings, cites rising fuel costs

BC Ferries vessel Spirit of Vancouver Island passes between Galiano Island and Mayne Island while travelling from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, B.C., on Friday Aug. 26, 2011. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

BC Ferries is adding a fuel surcharge to its ticket prices starting on March 1 due to rising fuel costs.

The surcharge will be a one-per-cent increase on average, marking a 15-cent increase for adult passengers on Metro Vancouver-Vancouver Island routes, and 55 cents for vehicles.

The surcharge is roughly equal to a five-cent increase for adults on inter-island routes, and a 20-cent increase for vehicles along these sailings.

"Over the past 18 years, BC Ferries has been using a fuel rebate/surcharge mechanism to manage the volatility in the price of fuel," said the company in a release Wednesday.

BC Ferries says that when fuel prices are high, it charges a fuel surcharge "specifically designed to cover the additional cost of fuel."

During other times, fuel rebates are issued to customers if fuel prices a low. Or, in other cases, neither a surcharge nor rebate is in place when fuel prices have stabilized.

"The company does not benefit financially from surcharges or rebates," said BC Ferries Wednesday.

The upcoming fuel surcharge will be in affect for all routes, except for several smaller routes, where instead an existing 1.5 per cent fuel rebate will be removed starting March. 1. Those routes include Port Hardy-Prince Rupert, Prince Rupert-Haida Gwaii and Port Hardy-Central Coast routes.