BC Ferries drops fuel surcharge in time for holidays

Holiday travellers can look forward to a break after BC Ferries announced Monday it would eliminate its fuel charge.

The surcharge will end on Dec. 5 on all minor routes and the route between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale.

On Dec. 19, the surcharge will be dropped on the three major routes: Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay, Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay and Tsawwassen-Duke Point.

The company implemented the fuel surcharges on Aug. 1 after the price of crude oil hit $147 US a barrel in July. It was cut in half on Nov. 4 when the price of oil began to fall again.

But with the price of crude oil falling below $53 a barrel, BC Ferries' president David L. Hahn said the company has received authorization from the British Columbia Ferry Commissioner to remove the remainder of its fuel surcharge.

In addition, the B.C. government is also paying the publicly-owned corporation to cut prices on all sailings by 33 per cent for all of December and January as part of an economic stimulus plan announced in October to combat the effects of global financial crisis.