Outdoor Pet Areas Added To Two More Major Vessels

Dogs on leashes and cats in carriers travelling with their owners now have access to larger, outdoor pet areas on the upper decks of vessels travelling on BC Ferries Departure - Horseshoe Bay route.

They are also being added to the Horseshoe Bay - Langdale route.

“Our customers have told us that their pets need a better way to travel and we’ve taken steps to make that a reality. This is great news for customers preparing to travel with pets in the busy spring and summer seasons,” says Melanie Lucia, Vice-President of Customer Experience at BC Ferries.

“Thanks to feedback we received from pet owners and other customers, we plan to continue building on that momentum and make our vessels more pet-friendly."

BC Ferries says the addition of outdoor areas for furry friends and family members on the Queen of Surrey and the Queen of Coquitlam means a total of six vessels serving customers along the Sunshine Coast now have pet areas on upper decks, along with indoor facilities for pets and their owners.

It builds on the roll out of the outdoor upper deck pet areas introduced on other routes, including the Horseshoe Bay – Departure Bay and Powell River – Comox routes last spring.

On average 92.5 percent of respondents to customer feedback surveys were in favour of expanding the pet areas to the outer decks of other ferries.

BC Ferries says it is now considering ways to prioritize comfort for pets and their owners on more vessels, and additional outdoor pet spaces are being considered on vessels serving the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay Route.

Pets and their people must access the areas via a designated stairwell, marked with paw prints.
Waste bags and water bowls will be provided. There will be a limit of two pets per owner.

The new pet areas are only available on routes between Departure Bay – Horseshoe Bay, Departure Bay – Langdale, Earls Cove – Saltery Bay and Powell River – Comox.

Currently, passengers travelling on all other routes can continue to use pet areas on lower decks.

For more information, visit BC Ferries.