The Office of the B.C. Ferries Commissioner approved four of the five new ­vessels requested by B.C. Ferries, essentially keeping capacity status quo.

And yet I read: “There has been no major change to the capacity or service levels of these major routes for about 30 years since the Spirit-class vessels entered service.”

Population grows regardless. How would highways on both sides of the Salish Sea manage a 15-50% increase in traffic from the ferries?

It’s easier to pack boats full of people than vehicles, so my next question is: Is it a more efficient use of taxpayer money for government to connect and augment public transit with rail stops at all major terminals on the Island and Lower Mainland?

The Galloping Goose could be reactivated as a rail plus trail to Swartz Bay, and the Island Railway extended to Duke Point. This would unleash huge capacity in our transportation system to serve the millions of passengers essential to the Island economy.

Mainland terminals are within spitting distance of active rail infrastructure. Maybe investing in rail would be smarter than saddling B.C. Ferries with boatloads of debt.

Chris Alemany

Port Alberni

B.C. Ferries’ recent announcement about acquiring new vessels is welcome news in principle — but the decision to withhold the cost of this project until after its completion is deeply troubling.

This lack of transparency is not only unacceptable, it’s undemocratic. Public infrastructure projects — especially those funded, subsidized, or regulated in the public interest — must be subject to open scrutiny from the start.

When decision-makers hide the financial details until the work is done, there’s no opportunity for public input, no accountability, and no way to assess whether taxpayers and ferry users are getting fair value.

Secrecy breeds distrust. And after years of service disruptions, rising fares, and questionable priorities, B.C. Ferries should be working to rebuild confidence — not erode it further with opaque processes. British Columbians deserve to know how their money is being spent, not after the fact, but while there’s still time to ask........

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