B.C. Ferries, Hullo add extra sailings for Taylor Swift concerts

B.C. Ferries is feeling 22.

That's how many extra sailings the operator has added between Vancouver and Victoria for the weekend of Dec. 6-8, when Taylor Swift will be performing three back-to-back concerts at B.C. Place.

Hullo which operates passenger ferries between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo says it will also add extra sailings that weekend, including late-night sailings to bring concertgoers home after the show.

While Hullo's bookings will open near the end of the summer, B.C. Ferries reservations for December opened last weekand Vancouver Island Swifties are already snatching them up.

Ferry operators in B.C. prepare for Swifties

6 months ago

Duration 2:14

To prepare for Taylor Swift's upcoming shows in Vancouver, B.C. Ferries and Hullo say they are planning ahead of time and adding extra sailings to their schedules for the weekend of Dec. 6, 2024.

Meghan Smith from Victoria is attending the Sunday concert with her husband and two children.

As soon as she learned from a post on a Swiftie Facebook group that reservations had opened, she booked her spot right away.

Smith went to Swift's Seattle concert last summerand remembers the travel chaos all too well.

"All the trains were booked up months in advance, all the buses," said Smith, who plans to arrive a day before the concert in case of cancellations.

She's advisingother Island Swifties to do the same.

"I don't want to be rushing to try to get over there for the show on Sunday and risk anything happening, especially in December, when the weather can be brutal," she said.

Charlotte Palmer, who lives in Nanaimo, plans to travel as a foot passenger for the concert.

And although B.C. Ferries rarely fill up in walk-on space, she wouldn't in her wildest dreams travel without a reservation on Taylor weekend.

"There's going to be such an influx of people into the city from the Island," said Palmer. "I have a feeling it's going to be very busy."

It's not the first time Hullo has added a late-night ferry for special events.

Alastair Caddick, CEO of the Vancouver Island Ferry Company, which operates Hullo, says it has run extra sailings for other concerts like Beyonc, Guns n Rosesand, just recently, Madonna.

"What that allows our guests to do is come over for the day, enjoy the concert, finish the concert, and still have time to get back to our terminal so they can be home that night," said Caddick.

He said the sailing could depart Vancouver at midnight or even later depending when the concert ends.

"We've seen a lot of excitement and demand for those events from people all across Vancouver Island," said Caddick.

In a statement to CBCNews, B.C. Ferries said it typically allows up to 80 per cent deck space for reservationson the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route, with the remainder being first come, first served.