Ferry Schedule lengthening in January to include 11:30pm sailing

Sounder News

The Gabriola Ferry Schedule is going to be shifting on January 2, 2025.

Returning to the schedule, 10 years after it was removed, is an 11:30pm sailing out of Nanaimo.

This will also mean that there will be an 11pm sailing leaving Gabriola.

According to BC Ferries, the upcoming schedule change in January 2025 is designed to improve on-time performance for Route 19, the Gabriola Island–Nanaimo route.

This adjustment is intended to spread out sailings over a slightly longer operating window, with the intention to enhance reliability and help the crews take proper meal and rest breaks while still meeting operational needs.

Steve Earle, Chair of the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee, said, “the FAC hopes that these changes will allow the Route 19 crews to maintain better on-time performance.

“Even though the FACs are still in place,  we are already experiencing a new style of communication from BCF to its small-island customers. In the past the FAC would normally have been given a few weeks’ advance notice about such changes and an opportunity to comment and even suggest tweaks. This time we were told a few days in advance and were not asked to provide any comment.”