From the Vancouver Sun, yesterday:

The CEO of B.C. Ferries is warning the company may need to increase fares by 30 per cent or more in 2028, when its current fare structure expires. Nicolas Jimenez says in a written statement the provincially owned corporation had forecast last year that such a price rise would be needed to keep up with operating and capital costs. But, he said costs since then have jumped, including a 40 per cent increase in shipbuilding expenses since 2020.

The rising costs have created “a growing funding gap” that Jimenez says will require “a sustainable funding model” to address. With 27 terminals and with 16 aging vessels in its fleet — the Queen of New Westminster is now 60 years old — building new ships and retrofitting terminals is a top priority, Jimenez told a Victoria Chamber of Commerce meeting recently.

B.C. Ferries has planned for 15 Island-class vessel replacements between now and 2030. Four all-electric versions of those vessels — which are used on smaller routes — are currently being built in Romania. _{https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-ferries-ceo-says-that-fares-may-rise-30-percent}

From research by Ernst & Young LLP for Transport Scotland in 2022:

The Scottish Government provided almost the same level of subsidy for less than one quarter the number of passengers, for more routes and with younger vessels than BC Ferries in Canada an areas with twice the GDP. _{https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/}

BC ferries hopes to replace its crumbling fleet by 2030 but has none actually in the pipeline while CalMac has 2 from Ferguson Marine and 3 from Turkey, arriving in the next year.