There was a time when B.C. ferries was the West Coast’s pride and joy. But now, thanks to political ideology trumping common sense, the 36-vessel fleet is sailing through stormy seas.

The ferry system and its 4,500 employees who serve 47 destinations on 25 coastal routes is being rocked by numerous challenges, such as sharp fare increases, declining ridership, safety issues triggered by a tragic sinking, and excessive executive salaries. But the fundamental reason why B.C. Ferries has floundered is because it’s seen as a failed British Columbia government-sponsored experiment in quasi-privatization.

The experiment was launched in 2003 by then-premier Gordon Campbell’s provincial Liberal government. Until then, the now 50-year-old ferry service had operated as a provincial Crown corporation.

Indeed, when B.C. Ferries was founded by legendary premier W.A.C. Bennett in 1960, it was billed as a public transportation service that was considered part of B.C.’s highway system; for British Columbians living on Vancouver Island and others living in the Gulf Islands and isolated coastal communities north of the Lower Mainland, the ferry routes were their highways.

Fast-forward to 2003, when the B.C. Liberals under Campbell had other ideas. Mesmerized by their devotion to privatization (Campbell’s clan dressed like Liberals but behaved like Tories), they created B.C. Ferries Services Inc., a quasi-private company. Its mandate was to operate as a stand-alone business based on user-pay principles, even though a small annual B.C. government subsidy would continue.

To be fair, Victoria’s incentives for change were also partially rooted in the “fast ferries fiasco,” in which a previous New Democratic Party government wasted millions on building three aluminum fast ferries that quickly proved to be floating white elephants.

But passenger experience since 2003 tells a different tale than the one Victoria has scripted. Fares, with help from fuel surcharges, have jumped by 60%-120% on many routes. As the Islands Trust, a federation of independent Gulf Island governments, says in a recent letter to the B.C. government: “There is strong evidence that the primary cause of decreased ridership is repeated fare increases.”

In fiscal 2010, for example, overall passenger and vehicle traffic increased by a lackluster 1.5% after dropping by 5% in 2009. Higher fares are also reflected in increased costs of goods and services and job losses on Vancouver Island and many other coastal communities.

Meanwhile, safety issues remain a concern, thanks to a series of docking accidents and, especially, following a 2006 sinking that claimed two passenger lives.

New Premier Christy Clark shows signs of addressing the ferry problem. She’s ordered a government-funded review into fare increases and the governing Coastal Ferry Act. Clearly, however, the B.C. Ferries problem won’t be solved until Victoria decides to restore the ferry service to its proper place as an integral part of B.C.’s publicly supported highways. IE