That's only a 20-minute trip. It doesn't really have two ferries does it? That damn island of 4,000 has hourly ferries from ~5am to 11pm. That's quite something. Is it going to get every-30-minute service in the spring?
It is only a 20 minute trip once you are on the ferry. Taking into account the one to two sailing waits on each side, it was taking me 5 hours to go to a 15 minute appt in Nanaimo even in the off season. And the population on Gabe has increased hugely in the last 2 years along with the rapid growth in housing & renovations. Quite often the ferry is full of work vehicles such as gravel & cement trucks, & surprisingly lots of logging trucks. On our old, very short street, there are 5 new homes on previously bare lots that have sprung up in the past 18 months, some new, some moved over by Nickel Bros.
The way it is being spun by BCF is that the second ferry will be running during peak times, being anchored in Nanaimo. Both ships will carry fewer cars than the Quinsam, but will run more frequently when required.
We loved our home there, however after 13 years we couldn't justify spending half our life in a ferry line up.