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Regional district opposes ferry fare hikes

Regional district directors are sounding off about changes to BC Ferries.
Directors voted at their Dec. 13 meeting to write a letter to Transportation Minister Judith Reid opposing the recently announced fare hikes, which will see the price of tickets on the northern routes rising more than 25% over the next few years, while southern routes will see increases of almost 18%.
"It's not being distributed equally between the northern and southern routes," said regional district administrator Janet Beil. "And the board was very upset that they've failed to recognize us as a marine highway."
Directors were also concerned about a rumour that BC Ferries employees want to be based in Port Hardy rather than Prince Rupert, and have made a proposal to the minister requesting this change. The letter to Ms Reid also asks for more information about this possibility.
"We're basically saying if this is the case, you better reconsider," Ms Beil said. "Definitely, we're concerned."