Despite rising fuel costs that hindered travel for many British Columbians, figures released by B.C. Ferries in their 2007/2008 Annual Report on July 28 show that the number of people traveling on the northern routes significantly increased in the last year.
For the fiscal year of 2008, which ended March 31, a total of 33,789 vehicles boarded the ferries on the northern routes, an increase of 7,935 from the 2007 fiscal year. The number of foot passengers also increased, jumping by to a total of 101,751 in 2008 from 78,159 in 2007. All told both foot traffic and vehicle traffic on the northern routes increased by more than 30 per cent. The numbers, while a significant increase from 2007, are still below the numbers from fiscal 2006, prior to the sinking of the Queen of the North. Vehicle traffic numbers are down by approximately 3,300 and foot passenger traffic is down by over 15,000 compared to the numbers from before the ship sank in March of 2006.