The Commission regulates British Columbia Ferry Services Inc (BC Ferries), the major ferry operator in coastal BC which holds an effective monopoly on most of its routes. You will find a snapshot of BC Ferries’ operations and its origins as a former crown corporation under the About BC Ferries button on the left.

How the law protects the independence of the Commission is described in the button on the left. Below that you will find a diagram showing the Commission’s role relative to the other bodies which control the ferry system (the BC Ferry Authority and various federal, provincial and municipal groups) by clicking the button Roles Diagram on the left.  Six policy principles which the commission is obliged to observe and which embody the public interest in the provision of ferry service are copied from the Act in the button of the same name.

The Commission ensures that the average level of ferry fares charged by the company does not rise above a ceiling or “price cap” set by the Commission. You can find more explanation of this, and charts showing how actual ferry fare levels compare with their caps, by clicking the button Regulation of Fares on the left.

Part of the Commission’s job is to monitor the adherence of BC Ferries to the terms of its service contract with the Province of BC, under which 22 of its 25 routes receive taxpayer funds in the form of a per-sailing service fee. You will find more on this under the Regulation of Service Levels button on the left.

Efficiency in ferry services helps keep down both ferry fares and government subsidies. If you as a member of the public have information or observations suggesting ways in which the performance, service quality, efficiency or productivity of BC Ferries could be improved, the Commission would be pleased to hear from you. Based on your input, the Commission could decide to launch a probe in which BC Ferries is legally required to answer the Commission’s questions and comply with any resulting orders, with no appeal.

You can find full details of the powers, roles and responsibilities of the Commission in part 4 of the complete Coastal Ferry Act, published on the provincial government’s web site, by clicking here.

The costs of running the BC Ferry Commission have to be paid by BC Ferries itself. The total cost of running the Commission has been less than one tenth of one percentage point of BC Ferries’ revenue from marine transportation.

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