VICTORIA (NEWS1130) - BC Ferries is looking to cut up to 400 sailings on its major routes to try to save more money amid a steep drop in ridership and a tough economy.
"Traffic declines, it's real simple," says CEO David Hahn.
He says passenger traffic on ferries is at a 20-year low, while vehicle traffic is down at level not seen in 11 years.
He points to more Canadians going to the States to shop with our relatively strong Canadian dollar and fewer Americans coming up here.
He adds increased labour costs and a rise in fuel prices are also weighing on the company.
Hahn says any sailing cuts would only be on major routes and would likely begin after September.
They also have to be approved by the provincial government.
"We're not going to hang people up, we're not going to leave them sitting there and not sail back and forth just because it's inconvenient," he says. "But to be sailing with 20 per cent loads when another ship sails an hour later? You wouldn't do it if it was your money."
Hahn says they are looking to trim costs in staff and advertising, but doesn't foresee layoffs for regular workers.
"We're looking at advertising, promotions, we're doing a hiring freeze, we'll look at some early retirements, any number of issues," says Hahn.
"The impact would probably be on the casual staff, and what we want to do is minimize that so that they can stay current. And again, that's why it gets a little tough to answer what the specifics, how and when, because we're going to want to balance it out to hopefully keep the damage to the employees as minimal as possible," he says.
The less-than-rosy financial forecast comes as the BC Ferry Commissioner conducts a full-scale review of the company - but Hahn says their sailing cut proposal has nothing to do with that.