Horseshoe Bay businesses pick up as BC Ferries resumes sailings
Posted June 3, 2020 3:11 pm.
Last Updated June 3, 2020 3:12 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Horseshoe Bay business owners got a welcome relief Wednesday as sailings partially resumed between West Vancouver and Departure Bay.
The four added sailings between the mainland and Vancouver Island mean there will be a lot more foot traffic next to the terminal.
Service between #HorseshoeBay & #DepartureBay resumes on June 3. Reservations are strongly recommended to avoid waits.
Customers without advanced bookings should consider travel on alternate routes:
Tsawwassen – Duke Point
Tsawwassen – Swartz Bayℹ️ https://t.co/oK2ZzFsK32 pic.twitter.com/dsESv01Nte
— BC Ferries (@BCFerries) May 30, 2020
“The last two months, it has been a lot quieter,” says Blenz owner Alf Haley, noting an immediate 40 to 50 per cent downturn in business when BC Ferries suspended the route on April 3.
Haley adds that things are not fully back to normal for the café, but he has started to notice the faces of regular customers again.
“A lot of them come in thinking we’ve been closed the whole time because they haven’t been coming back and forth the whole time.”
Paula Velazquez from Good Karma Café says there were more people in her shop Wednesday when sailings resumed between Vancouver and Nanaimo.
“The business has been busier, just in general,” says Velazquez.
She adds that the usual rush before sailings had dried up over the past two months, but Wednesday saw a steady increase in business.
While owners hope this trend continues, BC Ferries is still operating sailings at 50 per cent capacity.
-With files from Tim James
