Island Swifties like me worry we’ll miss final concerts due to ferry cancellations
Graphic by Rae Dawson.
With only four days left until the end of the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift fans in B.C. are starting to get restless. Swiftie Christmas is defrosting, and the very last city on her stadium tour — which spanned almost two years of international travel — is Vancouver, B.C.
Fans like me, who won the “Great TicketMaster War” and got tickets to this concert are threading friendship bracelets by the minute, tweaking details on elaborate costumes, researching merch booth locations, and planning their Amazing Race to the Eras Tour. However, Vancouver Island Swifties will have a unique hurdle to jump: the ferries.
From what I’ve observed culturally since moving to the island, the prospect of booking a walk-on ferry ticket in advance is typically reserved for special, high-traffic occasions like Thanksgiving weekend. Even so, my parents have been on me for months to book ahead, convinced that the ferry I loosely plan to take will magically disappear from the schedule when I board.
I can’t completely disregard this fear, because this summer I personally experienced a ferry cancellation. I attempted to take a 6 p.m. ferry from the Swartz Bay terminal to Tsawwassen, and ended up having to wait over three hours as multiple sailings vanished from the schedule due to “mechanical issues.”
However, I didn’t let this worry me at first. I explained to my parents that BC Ferries announced over two dozen extra sailings between Swartz Bay and the mainland, which they added to the calendar during the period that Taylor will be in the province. This also inspired Hullo — a ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo — to add extra sailings, apparently also including late-night ferries, during the weekend of the concert.
A BC Ferries spokesperson said in August:
“We know many Island residents were lucky to be able to buy tickets, and we want to make sure they have lots of options to get there and back.”
I was overjoyed to see that the ferries knew when they needed to pull through for their long-time riders, who have dealt with delays, cancellations, and wild waters for years to reach this moment. However, many Island Swifties have taken to Reddit to discuss whether or not these extra sailings are all that they are promised to be.
Some celebrated, admitting they planned to ferry back to Victoria on the same night because of egregiously expensive hotel prices to stay overnight on the mainland. User Rayne_K mentioned that additional evening sailings have been successful in the past, like during the 2010 Olympics:
“They ran extra late late night sailings to make day trips easier for islanders. I would not have gone if it weren’t for that.”
However, others aren’t sure that BC Ferries has the capacity to promise over two dozen extra sailings in addition to their regular sailing schedule, due to their long-standing reputation for cancellations.
Reddit user Zomunieo quips that “Some staff might be planning to be sick that day, since there’s a Taylor Swift concert.” While this comment is likely unserious, staffing issues are one of BC ferries’ main reasons for cancellation.
In a press release in June 2023, BC Ferries stated that in the fiscal year of 2023 they experienced a “high level of sailing cancellations due to the company’s inability to secure sufficient crew.”
The cancellation rate increased from 1.2 per cent of total sailings cancelled in 2022 to 1.6 per cent in 2023. Considering the multiple issues I’ve already experienced at ferry terminals this year, I suspect 2024 hasn’t seen much improvement on this statistic.
Nicolas Jiminez, BC Ferries’ President and CEO, said in 2023:
“We know that even one cancellation is one too many for the millions of travellers who depend on the coastal ferry system.”
For now, Island Swifties can only pray that the final leg of their race to the Eras Tour won’t be swiped away in the final days before the concert. And our message to the ferries?
“Just know [we’re] right here hoping / that you’ll come in with the rain…”
