Opinion: Why private passenger-only ferry services complement BC Ferries Written for Daily Hive Urbanized by Callum Campbell, who is the former director of the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Inland Ferries services, and the founder and CEO of CIRQL Ferries, formerly known as Greenline Ferries.

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When BC Ferries released their visioning report Charting the Course in August 2025, journalists quickly combed through the 54 pages and found a novel message: “Passenger-only ferries could play an expanded role in the future system.”

This was the most definitive statement we’ve seen from those who oversee the current ferry system about the benefits of passenger-only ferry service.

The team at CIRQL was, of course, pleased to see this acknowledgement of our core belief that passenger-only ferries can complement existing service in B.C. and offer much-needed flexibility for people living in ferry-dependent communities.

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News headlines on this topic appeared in the days following the release of the report — but in the news articles there remained one sticky question unanswered by the report itself: who would ideally deliver this passenger-only ferry service? Is BC Ferries best equipped for the job, or should private ferry operators step up?

As someone who once worked to help manage a government ferry service, I’m familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of a public system.

I’ll never forget an open house we hosted in Balfour in 2018. The hall was packed, the energy was intense. My government colleagues, posted around the room, were all engaged in intense conversations. Our carefully crafted poster-boards around the room did little to ease people’s concerns.

All the regular issues were being voiced, with a great diversity of opinion: ferry schedules, prioritization for locals, land-use decisions, and certain operational practices. As part of that system, I’d listen, and respond, but I also knew we wouldn’t be satisfying many people of the ferry-dependent communities.

When people say “ferries are our lifeline,” it’s not that decision-makers don’t understand the sentiment. It’s just that, quite often, there’s a great variety of needs that must be met. And given the rigidity of the service delivery model, adjustments are rarely as easy as they seem.

A principal benefit to passenger-only ferry service lies in its agility — that is, actually having the capacity to respond to some of the community concerns. Independent operators are ideally positioned for realizing this benefit, because serving the market is the only way these services can survive.

For private operators, tailoring ferry service to the communities is the central means by which they continue to exist. They stay in business only by keeping customer needs front and centre. They can offer added capacity for dense commuter corridors at peak times, muster late night sailings for concerts and events on short notice, and offer new destinations that follow trends and opportunities.

In addition, private operators can target specific markets; they might not meet the needs of every segment, but for some segments, they’ll handle them a lot better. And along the way, they strengthen resiliency of the coastal ferry system as a whole.

When operating alongside agile private sector providers, the structure and consistency of the existing provincial system is a strength, not a limitation. Smaller, faster privately-operated vessels will complement — not compete with — BC Ferries by relieving pressure on major terminals, and improving flexibility around ferry docking locations and scheduling. The overall result is more choice, better service responsiveness, and new travel patterns that actually strengthen the core public network by allowing it to focus on what it does best.

So how do we make this happen?

Private operators have a high cost to entry, so for all the capital that’s needed to launch, investors want to make sure there’s a reasonably level playing field going forward.

Here are three shifts that can help.

First, the provincial government should establish a clear framework for passenger-only ferries, recognizing them as complementary services in the public interest, rather than competitors to BC Ferries. This do-no-harm policy will help investors gain confidence that BC Ferries will avoid actions that work against these complementary services.

A second shift is to consider new ways of upholding travel affordability for those who need it.

While affordability is always a concern in our coastal travel system, the fact is that heavily subsidized ticket prices for one operator can keep other operators out of the game. Rather than buying down the ticket price across the board, the provincial government might consider offering travel credits to individual people who need it most. The travel credits could be used for any operator, thereby giving everyone choices for how they travel, based on their travel needs.

Lastly, because delivering better ferry service depends on truly understanding customer needs, we believe a detailed ridership dataset should be a shared asset across all operators.

Origin-destination data means knowing people’s travel from door to door, finding out where they’re headed beyond the ferry terminal, and determining the opportunities for improvement. For coastal travel, that means seeing the whole journey — where, when, how, and why people travel. A dataset like that would benefit every carrier.

These shifts can do a lot to help private players waiting to break into the game. Strengthening privately-operated passenger-only ferry services won’t solve every problem for every community, but it can inject agility, innovation, and customer focus into a system that could use all three.

BC Ferries remains indispensable, but it cannot — and should not — be the only player shaping the future of coastal mobility.

You might also like:
- BC Ferries identifies four potential passenger-only ferry routes in long-term plan
- Opinion: BC's coastal ferries need passenger-only vessels, not just for cars
- 'Charge barges' to power new B.C. battery ferries, doubling as passenger docks
- Proposal for battery-electric ferries linking downtown Vancouver, Bowen Island, and Sunshine Coast gains new momentum
- Hullo Ferries marks second anniversary with 40% ridership growth, high reliability
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