Hornby Island Community Page

The new BC Ferries app is now available for download to your mobile device in the App Store and Google Play Store. Designed with convenience and personalization in mind, the app makes it easier than ever to check schedules and current conditions, book sailings and manage your trips.

New features and enhancements include:

• Travel Preferences: Allows customers to save travel details for quick access to schedules and current conditions and make faster bookings on frequently travelled routes.
• Current Conditions: Route sailing status and estimated deck space will be easier to view with the updated app layout.
• Making and Managing Bookings: New designs and personalized travel preferences will enable easier bookings. Customers can quickly jump to the next available sailing with the new Express book feature, and manage existing bookings on-the-go.
• Schedules: Enhanced features on daily and seasonal schedules and the introduction of travel preferences will make it easier to trip plan.
• Alerts: Gives customers the option to receive timely push- notifications for service notices and upcoming sailing reminders on their device.
• Seamless check-in: Customers can find their upcoming trips on their app dashboard to access the booking barcode for seamless check-in at the terminal.

This is BC Ferries first release and the company already has plans for new features and functionality. The app will also continue to evolve based on feedback from customers and evolving digital trends.

More information about the mobile app, including how to and helpful tips, is available online at https://www.bcferries.com/app

Since filing in September 2022, an elevated risk of recession, coupled with higher inflation and cost pressures across BC Ferries operations, has forced a recalculation of estimates and plans contained in the company’s Performance Term Six Submission to the independent BC Ferries Commissioner.

Revisions to the plan are in three key areas:

• Traffic Outlook – BC Ferries’ traffic outlook has been updated to reflect the growing certainty of a mild recession occurring during Fiscal 2024;
• Capital Program and Maintenance – continued inflation and higher maintenance costs associated with maintaining an ageing fleet have been factored into an updated schedule and 12-year capital plan.
• Labour and Talent Development – a more comprehensive view of actions necessary to secure required crew levels in response to the growing gap of both exempt and bargaining unit wages relative to the marketplace.

The revised plan also acknowledges the recent commitment of $500 million in new funding from the Province to support the lowering of fare increases for people who rely upon the coastal ferry service. While funding terms are not finalized, the Commissioner will determine the impact on BCF’s revised four-year plan, and will make a final determination on the Performance Term Six price caps by September 30, 2023. The plan is now posted on the Commissioner’s website bcferrycommission.ca for public feedback.

Click here to view the full media release.

In response to a request from the Denman-Hornby Ferry Advisory Committee and the broader public, the schedule for the route will be adjusted to improve connections for those travelling to Hornby Island on Friday evenings. The revised Friday evening schedule will commence December 16th, 2022 and remain in effect through the duration of the off-peak season until further notice.

To accommodate the change, the existing round trip at 7:50 pm leaving Hornby and 8:45 pm leaving Denman will be replaced by two round trips that have been realigned with Buckley Bay sailing times on Friday evenings. The revised schedule with the additional round trip and revised departure times is outlined below:

Note: Those travelling from Buckley Bay on the 7pm ferry will connect with the 7:40 pm above and those travelling from the 8:30 pm sailing from Buckley Bay will connect to the 9:10pm above.

Summary of Engagement Results

On November 7, 2022 we held a community drop-in on both Hornby and Denman Island. We had over 130 people attend the events in person, in addition to over 700 people who visited the online community page and reviewed information being presented. Comments and feedback about important topics to the community were also collected on the pages and in person. A quick synopsis of engagement results for each island can be found below. The full report is available and can be found by clicking the links below or in the Documents section on the right-hand side of this page.

• Engagement Summary Report

Hornby Island
Synopsis of Engagement Results

71 participants attending in person and over 80 comments were received

Engagement activities included:

• A three-week online engagement
• One in person community drop in

Key themes that emerged from the engagement included:

• Future of the Baynes Sound Connector
• Desire for resident priority
• Equal access for Hornby traffic

Denman Island
Synopsis of Engagement Results

67 participants attending in person and over 50 comments were received

Engagement activities included:

• A three-week online engagement
• One in person community drop in

Key themes that emerged from the engagement included:

• Future of the Baynes Sound Connector
• Accessibility (time and day) and format of community event
• Increased service levels – extension of schedule

BC Ferries has heard the requests from Hornby Islanders for a larger vessel on the route and we understand the strong desire for an increase in service. We realize there is a need for more capacity on this route at peak times, as well as a number of other routes throughout the ferry system.

In September of 2022, we presented our Performance Term Six Submission (PT6) to the BC Ferries Commissioner. The submission provides financial and service planning information that helps the Commissioner in setting a price cap, the maximum allowable increase to fares for the next four years (2024-2028). The submission includes proposals for many needed service enhancements for our customers. This includes new vessels as well as a number of near-term service enhancements to increase capacity on some inter-island routes, including the Denman – Hornby route, as well as major routes and northern routes.

For the Denman Island – Hornby Island route, we are planning to deploy a larger vessel in the peak season starting as early as next summer. The MV Quinitsa, which carries approximately 44 vehicles, will replace the current vessel, the MV Kahloke, which carries approximately 21 vehicles in the summer months. The Kahloke would transition to the Buckley Bay – Denman Island route to provide supplementary service alongside the Baynes Sound Connector for the peak season. We are confirming our plans now and will keep the community updated on this page.

The Commissioner will make the final determination on the PT6 price caps by September 30, 2023. In the meantime, we encourage community members to review and provide feedback on the submission by visiting the Commission’s website at www.bcferrycommission.ca(External link).

Under contract to the Province, BC Ferries is the service provider responsible for ferry service along coastal British Columbia.

UPDATE (November 14, 2022): Thank you for participating and sharing your thoughts and feedback. This session is now closed, and we will be reporting back to the community on what we heard and next steps in the coming weeks. Please check back to this page for updates and to view the report.

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