We are volunteers from BC’s ferry-dependent communities.

We have been selected – mostly by local governments, regional governments and first nations – to represent users of ferries for our communities.  We serve on committees set up by BC Ferries, Ferry Advisory Committees, FACs.

There are 13 FACs along the length of the BC coast, representing ferry users on the 20 non-major routes and one major route (Route 3) . Together we are more than 110 people, and 13 chairs.

We are asked to represent our communities and our ferry users in talks with BC Ferries on local operations, planning and policy. We meet with BC Ferries twice a year at minimum, usually in the spring and the fall. The goal is to hold one of these meeting in person and the other via web or teleconference. If needed, we also meet outside those times, with the company, other entities and among ourselves.

The chairs, co-chairs, or their designates, of each of the FACs together form the group called the Ferry Advisory Committee Chairs, FACC.

The FACC is a forum for issues that span the non-major routes served by BC Ferries (including Route 3). We are conduits between local committees (and the communities they serve), and those involved in operating, regulating and setting policy for coastal ferries. This includes BC Ferries, the BC Ferry Commission and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The FACC also communicates with the media and public.

The FACC’s goal is to promote reliable, affordable, viable, safe coastal ferry service. With such service, the ferry-dependent communities can better contribute to the economic health of the province.

The current focus of the FACC is on threats to the sustainabilityand affordability of the non-major routes resulting from the new coastal ferry regime. The FACC also consults with BC Ferries on operational issues that span the non-major routes.