Bowen Island aims to charge BC Ferries $150K annually for ferry-related municipal services

The B.C. Ferries vessel Queen of Surrey passes Bowen Island while travelling on Howe Sound from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, B.C., on Friday, April 23, 2021. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Municipal authorities on Bowen Island have given preliminary approval to a plan that aims to charge BC Ferries $150,000 annually for costs the municipality incurs to support ferry operations linking the island community to the mainland.

“Unlike most ferry terminals in British Columbia, Bowen Island does not have a self-contained terminal where vehicle queuing occurs on provincially controlled lands,” the island’s local government explained in a news release Tuesday.

“Ferry queuing, traffic management, and pedestrian circulation occur largely on municipal roads and public spaces.”

Bowen Island says it provides “ferry marshalling,” traffic control, enforcement and infrastructure maintenance that are “essential to the functioning” of BC Ferries’ service to the island, which serves roughly 1.3 million passengers annually.

The municipality estimates that these ferry-related services cost it more than $160,000 annually, with one-time capital improvements worth more than $1 million needed by 2036.

To address these costs, Bowen Island municipal council recently gave first reading to a proposed “Ferry Impact Fee and Reserve Fund Bylaw,” which would establish an annual fee of $150,000, payable by BC Ferries.

The fee would be held in a dedicated reserve fund and used to pay for ferry-related costs.

“The services this fee recovers – traffic marshalling, pedestrian safety, congestion management – make Bowen’s ferry operations safer and more efficient for passengers, residents, and the operator alike,” said Mayor Andrew Leonard, in the release.

“We are not imposing a burden on ferry service. We are recovering the cost of municipal services that support it.”

That’s not necessarily how BC Ferries sees the situation, however.

In a statement to CTV News, the ferry operator said it’s reviewing the municipality’s proposed bylaw, “including what it could mean for service, fares or customer amenities on this route.”

“We operate within a framework with very limited financial flexibility, and introducing potential new charges like this creates pressure within a closed system,” the statement reads, in part.

“In practical terms, that pressure can affect the services and amenities we’re able to provide at terminals.”

BC Ferries noted that its services are provincially regulated and said its priority is “to protect reliable and affordable service for customers,” adding that it will assess the municipality’s proposed bylaw through that lens.

According to the municipality, BC Ferries made a one-time contribution of $50,000 toward marshalling costs in 2025, but that payment was not renewed.

Municipal staff seem aware that the proposed bylaw could face legal challenges. The staff report that accompanied the proposal at a recent meeting notes multiple times that the bylaw is designed to comply with the Community Charter, the provincial legislation that grants municipal governments their authority.

“The bylaw does not attempt to regulate ferry terminal land use or ferry operations directly, and is structured as a bylaw of general application addressing municipal services and infrastructure impacts,” the staff report reads.

“As with any fee bylaw, there is a risk of legal challenge; however, the bylaw has been drafted to align with established authorities for fees of general application and to avoid regulating ferry operations or provincial land use.”

Bowen Island is home to about 4,200 year-round residents and is served by more than a dozen daily sailings from Horseshoe Bay.

“Bowen Island has stepped up to make this ferry route work,” said Leonard. “The municipal services required to support ferry operations on our roads and public spaces need a fair, sustainable, and accountable funding mechanism—and that is what this bylaw provides.”

The municipality said the proposed bylaw is expected to receive subsequent readings and be adopted later this spring.