Thank you to Raeside and his recent political cartoon concerning the high costs of ferry fares by BC Ferries. Their explanation has been that there has been quite a decrease in the number of cars and passengers so it had to raise fares.
It is now over $60 one way for car and driver, thus over $120 to make a round trip. In my opinion, the name on the ship in the cartoon is correct: Queen of Gouging.
My sister is bed-ridden in a long-term care home in Victoria. She has no one in Victoria and lies in bed 24 hours a day with just nurses going in and out.
I would love to visit her once a week. When I go I take her some fried chicken and I can stay with her to make sure she doesn’t choke. She loves this.
The nurses cannot stand beside every patient with swallowing problems to make sure they don’t choke, so, therefore, all her food is minced.
How would any of us enjoy that? And also she has someone with whom she can converse. And I can read to her, etc.
But it would cost over $120, plus gas, to go even once a month.
When you are retired, that is quite a sum, but I try. To go once a week would cost around $500. We have been deprived of each other’s company.
Obviously many people have cut down on their trips from Vancouver to the Island or vice versa.
So BC Ferries, lower your prices so that we can start to visit our relatives and friends again.
Anne Justinen, Surrey