Vancouver Island residents will have a lot more sailing options to choose over the next year.
Stating that ferry services aren't a luxury for people along BC's coastal regions, Transportation Minister Claire Trevena says five years after BC Ferries service to some coastal communities was reduced, the NDP government is now reversing the course set by the previous Liberal government.
10 routes are being restored -- the majority as soon as this Spring.
The province and BC Ferries have inked a deal. The decision will add more than 27-hundred round trips including between Horseshoe Bay and Bowen Island, Nanaimo Harbour to Gabriola Island and Campbell River to Quadra Island.
The updated schedules are expected to be in the water within the next year.
The decision followed a special advisor's recommendations on the ferry service model.
Last Spring, the government funneled cash to the company, to help to reduce fares on the smaller and northern routes by 15 per cent, freeze fares on major routes and reinstate weekday free passenger fares for seniors.