B.C. Ferries fares up April 1

BC Ferry fares are going up April 1 by an extra $1.75 on the major routes between Vancouver Island and the mainland and by $3.30 on the roundtrip between Horseshoe Bay and the Sunshine Coast.

The cost for a car and driver one-way from the mainland to either Victoria or Nanaimo will rise to $46.75, while foot passengers will pay $14, a hike of 50 cents.

People travelling from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale will pay a total of $43.20 for a car and driver, while the cost to foot passengers will rise by $1 to $12.85.

Increases for the Gulf Islands and other routes rise from by about $1 to $3.

No fare increases were to be applied to the corporation's northern routes.

The BC Ferries statement Tuesday announcing the increases gave no specific reason for the rises and referred to them only as an "annual fare adjustment."

The corporation also announced new two-per-cent fuel rebates effective April 1, but did not specify if the new fares it quoted included those rebates.

Fares rose in April 2009 by 3.74 percent on the three major routes between Vancouver Island and the mainland and by 7.25 per cent on other routes. BC Ferries attributed the need for those increases on, "the rising cost of operating and capital expenditures."