BC Ferries buying out small water taxi companies

[Shane]

Could you see BC Ferries buying small water taxi companies or even starting water taxi or small freight ferry services along the coast to the smaller more isolated islands?
It's been on my mind, since yesterday when me and HMCS Nanaimo were talking about the old Union steamer S.S. Cassiar, we were talking about small coastal villages and hand logging camps and stuff like that and then I realized that a few of these small villages still exist on the coast and I was thinking of what kindof transportation service they have and it made me think of BC Ferries paying for these little known ferry services up the coast...
Who knows...

Could we end up seeing BC ferries logos on the side of these little boats in the future?

[Low Light Mike]

Well, Uchek-III and Lady Rose / Frances Barkley still do that job on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Aurora Explorer does that job in the inlets off of Johnstone Strait.

BC Ferries does some direct work thru MV Nimpkish at Ocean Falls, Klemtu & Shearwater.

There's some local, private water taxi services in some semi-remote places. Sea Legend (out of Port Hardy) services areas such as the Rivers Inlet camp. www.sealegend.com/ I was working once at Rivers Inlet (Owikeno village), and Pacific Coastal planes were fogged-in at Port Hardy, and so my trip-home was via the SeaLegend water-taxi.....one of my most memorable travel experiences.

As far as a takeover/buyout of existing services, I don't know.

I kinda think that there's still room for the existing private operators to do their own thing in their own unique niche market.

[Doug]

If they don't make a profit, then I doubt it.

[poeticlives]

I agree with Doug.

Is BC Ferries really in that business? Can they justify passenger transit without vehicles?

BC Ferries isn't turning millions in profit as it is. (a) I don't think it's financially feasible and (b) I don't think they can manage another service like that, romantic appeal aside.