'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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.