Ferries

FERRIES are marine transport vessels carrying motor vehicles and passengers across bodies of water on the coast and in the interior. Coastal ferries are operated by the BC FERRY CORP, which has many routes between mainland and island destinations. There are also 16 inland ferry routes connecting communities separated by rivers or lakes and operated by the Ministry of Transportation. Of these routes, 5 employ cable ferries and 6 employ reaction ferries. (A reaction ferry crosses a river using the force of the current.) The inland ferries carry about 1.7 million vehicles and 3.2 million passengers annually. The routes are:

• KOOTENAY LAKE between BALFOUR and KOOTENAY BAY; at 35 minutes it was the longest free ferry ride in the world until 2002.

• MARGUERITE ferry across the FRASER R, 54 km north of WILLIAMS LAKE.

• McLURE ferry across the N THOMPSON R, 43 km north of KAMLOOPS.

• LITTLE FORT ferry across the N THOMPSON R, 93 km north of Kamloops.

• Upper ARROW LAKE ferry between Galena Bay and Shelter Bay, 49 km south of REVELSTOKE.

• FRANÇOIS LAKE ferry between the community of François Lake and Southbank, 26 km south of BURNS LAKE.

• NEEDLES ferry across Lower Arrow Lk between Needles and FAUQUIER on Hwy 6, 59 km south of NAKUSP.

• Glade ferry across the KOOTENAY R, 22.5 km west of NELSON; at 3 minutes it is the shortest ferry ride in BC.

• HARROP ferry across the West Arm of Kootenay Lk, 24 km east of Nelson, between Harrop and Longbeach.

• USK ferry across the SKEENA R between North and South Usk, 16 km east of TERRACE.

• ARROW PARK ferry across the narrowing between Upper and Lower Arrow Lks.

• SHUSWAP LAKE ferry, based in SICAMOUS, serving communities around the lake.

• ADAMS LAKE ferry across Adams Lk.

• BARNSTON ISLAND ferry connecting the island to the south side of the Fraser R at PORT KELLS in SURREY.

• BIG BAR ferry across the Fraser R, 72 km west of CLINTON.

• LYTTON ferry across the Fraser R, 2 km north of Lytton.

The ALBION ferry, a much-used commuter service, used to connect MAPLE RIDGE and FT LANGLEY across the Fraser R; it stopped service in 2009 when it was replaced by the Golden Ears Bridge. For many years inland ferries operated by the Ministry of Transportation did not charge fares, but in 2002 the LIBERAL government announced a series of user fees and schedule reductions for the interior routes. There are also urban passenger ferries operated by private companies in VICTORIA harbour and FALSE CREEK in VANCOUVER. As well, TransLink operates the passenger SEABUS ferry crossing Vancouver harbour.