Despite the situation getting better, minor routes have been hit the hardest

Numbers are the lowest they've been in the last 10 years

Despite recent ferry cancellations, it turns out the number of trip cancellations is at its lowest level in a decade

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Several BC Ferries cancellations earlier this month created havoc for summer travellers, but it turns out cancellations due to mechanical or maintenance issues are becoming rarer.

Numbers analyzed by NEWS 1130 show that cancellations are actually at some of the lowest they’ve been in the last decade.

In fact, the number of cancellations last year was six times fewer than in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, from 266 trips cancelled to 42.

In 2010, 332 trips were cancelled.

Deborah Marshall with BC Ferries said having newer ships has helped bring numbers down.

“We’ve introduced new vessels and generally you’ll have fewer issues with a newer ship,” Marshall said.

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She said BC Ferries does constant maintenance work to continue to keep mechanical delays to a minimum.

“We do have engineers on board overnight, what we call the graveyard shift. So while they are performing some maintenance tasks during the operational day, the bigger jobs can be done overnight,” she said. “We’ve got all of our ships going through an annual re-fit as well and that’s to ensure that all of the equipment is kept in good working order.”

She said some of the ships run 12 to 18 hours a day for 11 months of the year.

Last year, there were only two cancellations on all the major routes.

But it’s not all smooth sailing, when something goes wrong. She said travellers are still inconvenienced because BC Ferries does not have a spare major vessel to put into service.

And despite numbers going down, minor routes continue to be the most affected by mechanical and maintenance related cancellations.

Minor routes had the most number of cancellations nine times out of the last 10 years.

One of the routes affected was Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay.

Local Mayor Ryan Windsor said Brentwood Bay highly depends on the service.

“There is a response from the community around the service level and the need for the service for commuters to have an alternative,” Windsor said.

He added many of the residents have asked for a second ferry to be added to the route.

RELATED: More people are using BC Ferries than ever before

The possibility of a bridge was also considered, but Windsor said economically it might not be feasible.

“The expense of a crossing was looked at recently by the province again. Some costed options were laid on the table and a bridge crossing is somewhere around $1 to $1.5 billion from my recollection, which is probably not going to happen,” he said. “It’s just simply too expensive.”

During peak tourist season or when there’s an accident on the Malahat highway, Windsor said it’s good for residents to have options.