'Seems like an app that should be around': Unofficial BC Ferries app shows how full sailings are
A Victoria man has designed a free app that lets users check on BC Ferries sailings and see how full they are.
The app, called BC Ferry Times, is available for Apple devices and shows how full a given sailing is, based on BC Ferries data.
The app is similar to an older app called Ferry Rush, which shut down last year.
In fact, developer Samuel Pratt says that the app is based on the interface of Ferry Rush.
Pratt says the app requires new coding whenever the BC Ferries website has an update, since it uses data directly from the official site.
The developer of Ferry Rush shut down his app when he no longer wanted to keep up with updating the application.
"When he shut down the app I emailed him and asked if I could use his interface and design on another app, and he generously said yes," said Pratt.
"It just seems like an app that should be around."
The application is free, but there are some extra features that can be purchased for $3.99, which will support development.
While the extra features are handy, Pratt says the app is perfectly useable on its own.
"I didn't want to put anything essential behind the paywall," he said.
With BC Ferries seeing many cancellations recently, largely due to a staffing shortage, the app also accounts for sudden cancellations.
Pratt says cancelled sailings are automatically removed from the app, though it does not alert users if a given sailing has been cancelled.
Correction
A previous version of this story said the app was called "BC Ferries Times." In fact, it is called "BC Ferry Times."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.