1. Horseshoe bay ferryboat
The cancellation of the route to departure bay

2. B.c. ferries routes

3. routes There are currently 30 different routes within b.c. ferries.
Out of those 30 routes, only 1 Is a passenger only route.
There are 4 routes between metro Vancouver to Vancouver island:
1. Vancouver-Victoria (Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay) Vancouver-Nanaimo (Tsawwassen-Duke Point)    West Vancouver-Nanaimo (Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay) Powell River-Comox (Westview-Little River)

4. A little history
BC Ferries started out with two ships, two terminals, and around 200 employees. Today our company has 35 vessels, 47 destinations and up to 4700 employees committed to safety and customer service. 
BC Ferries is an independently managed, publicly owned company that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia
Mike Corrigan is the ceo of b.c. ferries
It was founded in victoria in 1960.
BC Ferries has become the largest passenger ferry line in North America and the second largest in the world

5. The issue at hand
On November 5th 2014 the idea was proposed for the cancellation of the route to the horseshoe bay and departure bay ferry terminals.
There are 200 million dollars worth of upgrades needed to the horseshoe bay terminal to keep it well maintained and running.
Nanaimo Mayor John Ruttan says he was flooded with calls and s from residents who were concerned about the potential terminal closures and service reductions.
Within 24 hours of this proposal, B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone has told reporters in Victoria the route will definitely not be cut.
“The B.C. government has no interest in cancelling or seeing the cancellation of the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay run. That's an iconic run in British Columbia—very popular with locals and tourists and I think we've been very consistent in saying there's no appetite whatsoever within the B.C. government to see BC Ferries cancel that run." - Stone

6. Options going forward
There are 5 current options as of now, not including the cancelling of the horseshoe bay to Nanaimo route
Increased fares: rates will have to increase by four per cent each year, That would mean the cost of a roundtrip from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay for one person and their car would increase from $139 to $162.
Increased government funding: Corrigan says fare hikes will stay around inflation, at two per cent per year, if the government increases their subsidy by $45 million over the next four years. This year, they provided about $175 million.
Further cuts to costal routes: There exists the possibility that BC Ferries could further cut routes from those reduced in April, but this is unlikely to happen.
Staffing reductions: Canada requires BC Ferries to carry 48 staff on a 2000-passenger ferry, while a similar sized vessel in Washington would only require 14 staff.
A bridge from the mainland to Vancouver island: most experts believe there are a host of reasons why it won’t happen – from the cost, to the possible environmental impacts, to the seismic threats. In 2001 the estimated cost of the bridge would be somewhere between 8-12 billion dollars.

7. Price list for b.c. ferries

8. Impact on our industry
With the cancellation of the horseshoe bay to departure bay route, people trying to access the ferryboats would need to make alternate arrangements through other routes.
This would cause more traffic at staying routes, less space on the boats due to heavy passenger amount, less space for reservations and longer wait times.
Less people are likely to take the ferry if they can not easily access the route.
Some people even considering moving away completely or moving to either the island or the mainland as permanent residents so as not to have to use the ferry as a mode of transportation.

9. Why did I choose this topic
I chose this topic for many reasons:
I have family on the island so I travel there often to visit.
If the horseshoe bay route disappeared it would affect me greatly at the tsawwassen terminal with the delays due to extra customers using said terminal.
Going forward I would like to see the option of more routes instead of the elimination of the current routes.
Taking a bridge across to the island just doesn’t seem logical to me.
The cost of a sea plane to the island for one passenger is 87$-107$, not in my price range.

10. summary
The option to cancel the horseshoe bay to departure bay route has been eliminated.
There will need to be major cuts to cost
200 million dollars is needed in upgrades to the horseshoe bay terminal
Ultimately people are happier without the cancellation of the route.
It would definitely hurt the impact on tourism within b.c. with the route cancellation.