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Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal

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Horseshoe Bay
A ferry departing the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.
General information
Location6750 Keith Road
West Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Coordinates49°22′35″N 123°16′16″W / 49.37639°N 123.27111°W / 49.37639; -123.27111
SystemFerry terminal
OperatorBC Ferries
LinesRoute 2–Departure Bay
Route 3–Langdale
Route 8–Snug Cove
Bus routes3
Bus stands1
Bus operators
Connections
  •  250  Vancouver
  •  257  Vancouver Express
  •  262  Lions Bay-Brunswick
  •  262  Caulfeild
Construction
Parking
  • 138 short-term spaces
  • 460 long-term spaces
Accessibleyes
Other information
Station codeHSB[1]
Websitewww.bcferries.com/travel-boarding/terminal-directions-parking-food/vancouver-horseshoe-bay/HSB Edit this at Wikidata
History
Opened1951
Original company
Black Ball Lines
Key dates
1961Acquired by the Government of British Columbia[2]
Passengers
20243 542 240[Note 1] Increase 0.78%
Location
Map

Horseshoe Bay is a major ferry terminal of BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. Located in the community of Horseshoe Bay, a neighbourhood of West Vancouver, the terminal provides a vehicle ferry link from the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and to Bowen Island, a small island in the southern part of Howe Sound.

Comprising three berths, Horseshoe Bay is the third largest BC Ferries terminal, after Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.[citation needed]

History

[edit]

In 1951, the Black Ball Line leased a wharf and began a service to Gibsons[2] (later relocated to Langdale).[3] The ferry landing at Horseshoe Bay opened on 11 August 1951, with the 48-car vessel Quillayute entering service.[4] In 1953, a new route to Departure Bay in Nanaimo was established.[5] In 1956, services to Bowen Island began when Black Ball replaced the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia.[6]

In 1961, the provincial government purchased the various Black Ball operations.[7] In the late 1960s, the terminal was reconstructed and expanded.[8][9] In 1976, a new upper deck loading ramp was built.[10]

In 2002, substantial improvements were completed at a cost of $39 million, which primarily addressed traffic awaiting embarkation on ferries. Holding stalls increased from 650 to 1,265 by absorbing former highway, removing a freeway bridge and truck runaway lane, and reconfiguring a highway interchange. Additional construction included a 450-car underground parkade and new buildings for foot passengers, amenities and maintenance.[11] A $250 million upgrade of the terminal is planned for the 2020s.[12]

On 28 March 2022, the first seismic sensor for British Columbia's earthquake early warning system was installed at the Horseshoe Bay terminal.[13]

[edit]

Ferry rides from Horseshoe Bay are described by fictional characters in the novel The Cat's Table, by Booker Prize-winning author Michael Ondaatje, and in the short story What is Remembered, by Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro.

Incidents and accidents

[edit]
  • 1966: Langdale Queen ran over a nearby rowboat; both occupants survived.[14]
  • 1982: Queen of Surrey rammed the dock, causing significant damage.[15]
  • 1985: Three occupants were killed when Queen of Cowichan ran over a pleasure boat near the terminal.[16]
  • 1989: A structural steel load on an arriving truck shifted, striking seven parked vehicles and injuring two women in the holding lot.[17]
  • 1990: After brakes failed, a loaded truck struck a parked van and spilled hot asphalt, killing two of the occupants and injuring others.[18] The truck driver received an 18-month sentence, increased to five years on appeal.[19] At a new trial, the driver was found guilty of dangerous driving but not criminal negligence.[20]
  • 1991: Robbers stole $12,000 in coin from a safe at the terminal.[21]
  • 1995: Queen of Coquitlam slammed into pilings, damaging its bow.[22]
  • 2005: Queen of Oak Bay lost control and smashed into a number of private boats at the marina in Horseshoe Bay; no fatalities were reported.[23]
  • 2019: A crew member was significantly injured after being hit by the Queen of Cowichan's bow door, which was having trouble opening at the terminal.[24]
  • 2022: A minor rock slide on 2 January closed the parkade for rock removal and structural repairs. The parkade was re-opened on 18 May 2022.[25][26]
  • 2025: A TransLink bus crashed into the bus stop next to the foot passenger area killing a pedestrian and injuring another.[27]
[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Figures obtained for 2023 & 2024 from adding the passengers counted at Horseshoe Bay from the routes 2, 3, and 8 in each month of the calendar year.[1] The figures under "Total Prev Year" are not used because those denote fiscal years instead of calendar years. The total passenger count at Horseshoe Bay for 2023 was 3 514 666.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Plans, Reports, Policies and Other Resources". Connecting the Coast | BC Ferries. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Horseshoe Bay". hp.bccna.bc.ca. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Little, Gary. "Black Ball Ferries 1951–1961". www.garylittle.ca.
  4. ↑ Rose, Ronald (13 August 1951). "Port Mellon Link To Ferry Speeded". Vancouver Sun. p. 15. Retrieved 11 August 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "New Ferry Link for Nanaimo". The Daily Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. 30 September 1952. p. 3 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ Crilly, Martin Laurence (1973). Analysis of British Columbia Ferries and its Commercial Vehicle Policy (MBA). University of British Columbia. p. 70 (57).
  7. ↑ "CP Considering Ways to Compete With Black Ball". Prince George Citizen. 6 December 1961. p. 1 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  8. ↑ "Bids Opened On Terminal". The Daily Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. 4 November 1967. p. 10 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ "British Columbia's Ferries" (PDF). The British Columbia Road Runner. Vol. 5, no. 3. Department of Highways. September 1968. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "New ferry hurdles obstacles". The Daily Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. 27 July 1976. p. 41 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Furtado, Glen, M.A.Sc., EIT; Hobbs, Steve, P.Eng (1 January 2003). "TRANSPORTATION: Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal". Canadian Consulting Engineer. Association of Canadian Engineering Companies.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Chan, Kenneth (19 September 2019). "BC Ferries planning world-class hub upgrade for Horseshoe Bay terminal (RENDERINGS)". Daily Hive. Vancouver: ZoomerMedia.
  13. ↑ Kotyk, Alyse (29 March 2022). "1st sensor for Canada's early earthquake warning system installed in B.C." CTV News. Bell Media. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Man 'Run Over' By Ferry". Prince George Citizen. 24 January 1966. p. 5 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  15. ↑ "Bad month on ferries". Prince George Citizen. 1 September 1982. p. 3 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  16. ↑ "Boat operators blamed for deaths". Prince George Citizen. 7 March 1986. p. 9 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  17. ↑ "Two hurt at terminal". Prince George Citizen. 18 July 1989. p. 2 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  18. ↑ "Grieving man lashes out after ferry terminal mishap". Prince George Citizen. 10 July 1990. p. 2 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  19. ↑ "Out on bail". Prince George Citizen. 4 September 1992. p. 2 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  20. ↑ "Truck driver guilty". Prince George Citizen. 13 February 1995. p. 2 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  21. ↑ "Heavy money". Sunshine Coast News. 18 May 1991. p. 8 – via UBC Library.
  22. ↑ "Ferry slams into pilings". Prince George Citizen. 21 October 1995. p. 17 – via Prince George Newspapers.
  23. ↑ "Marine Investigation Report M92W1022". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. 24 May 2007.
  24. ↑ NanaimoNewsNOW Staff (19 October 2019). "Ferry worker injured on Queen of Cowichan hospitalized, 2 sailings cancelled". NanaimoNewsNOW.
  25. ↑ Judd, Amy (3 January 2022). "Rock slide forces closure of BC Ferries parkade at Horseshoe Bay terminal". Global News. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  26. ↑ @BCFerries (18 May 2022). "#BCFHeadsUp – The parkade at our #HorseshoeBay Terminal has been fully repaired and is now open for business! We sincerely appreciate your patience throughout the repairs. ^ab" (Tweet). Retrieved 31 July 2023 – via Twitter.
  27. ↑ [check quotation syntax]{{4-year-old dead, 2 women injured in bus crash near West Vancouver ferry terminal: police. (2025). In CBC. Retrieved 24 July 2025, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/west-vancouver-pedestrian-collision-1.7546537

49°22′32″N 123°16′19″W / 49.37560°N 123.27182°W / 49.37560; -123.27182

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