Kootenay Bay Ferry — Local services in Area A (Wynndel/Crawford Bay/Riondel)

My boyfriend and I were traveling from Calgary to Ainsworth hot springs. This was our first time taking the ferry. Upon arriving after our long trip, we got to the ferry at 1:00 and realized we needed to wait. We were the first vehicle there. It was raining and so both of us stayed in our vehicle. Other vehicles joined us later forming lines around us. Not realizing there was a system in order for vehicles boarding. The line beside us started going and then vehicles stopped to let us in. We drove onto the Ferry only to be greated very rudely by a attendant asking why we cut in. We were very confused and my boyfriend replied that the other cars weren't moving so we drove in. Before we had a chance to say anything else he told us to go park on the side of the ferry while other cars passed us. After the ferry departed, I stepped out to talk with the fellow who assumed we cut in. I only wanted to talk to him about what happened not trying to place the blame on him. Just in case someone was in a situation like ours in the future. He came off very rude and arrogant saying that there were signs (which we didn't see because of the rain) and that what I'm saying doesn't matter because they couldn't tell the order across the lake. I then stated that his assumption he created without getting our side of the story was enough to condemn us to being the last off the ferry after our long wait. He then said that he was there for 20 years and this happened all the time. I was going to ask him why if it happens all the time would he just assume or maybe why isn't there another system in place but he waved his hand in my face and walked away saying whatever. I get we weren't in the right place and I was fine waiting on the side of the ferry. I just wish they could have handled themselves more professionaly after I was stating my concerns to him. But what does it matter to him, he has been there 20 years and will probably still be there for another 20 more because it would never go out...

Horrible, rude, and aggressive staff. Employee had me park my motorcycle so close to another that I was unable to get off of my bike. I rolled my bike forward a bit so I would be able to get off and the women yelled at me to get my bike back. When I explained to her that I would be unable to get off my bike where it was parked she said ‘not my problem’. I again explained that if I could just roll the bike forward, I could get off and then roll the bike back so it was parked where she wanted it. After trying to explain a second time she again didn’t listen, and reached her hand up to physically push my bike backwards (which if you don’t ride is a huge no no, you can cause the rider to lose balance of there footing and tip the bike over causing injury to the rider and thousands of dollars worth of damage to the bike). I did stop her from touching my bike and rolled my bike back but was then stuck awkwardly and uncomfortably sitting on my bike for the entire duration of the sailing. As a regular rider on the coastal BC Ferries, I was horrified to see the disregard for passenger safety on the independent inland ferry. Never thought I’d see the day where I would be recommending a company go and learn a thing or two from BC Ferries… BC ferries may not always have great customer service but they at least take passenger safety seriously.

Edit: I did take the ferry again the next day in the opposite direction and had a vastly different experience. The crew on board was very polite and helpful. The person directing traffic into lanes on the boat came over to check that I had enough space to get off the bike and had space to get the bike out when unloading later on. I did speak to a person on board about my experience the previous day and they mentioned that it was a recurring problem with that specific employee and recommended calling the main office to put in a formal complaint which I...

Amazing ferry ride, where I had to make 4 crossings in 4 days.

First crossing (truck + 5th wheel): staff yelling at me, not clear in their directions during loading and unloading. 1 star

Second crossing (motorcycle). Again, unclear directions, no employee in parking lot to ask if, like any other ferry, motorcycles get priority boarding, so they can squeeze in as many vehicles as possible by being able to tuck motorcycles in tight spaces. Had to take up a lot of real estate by parking in regular lane. 1 star

Third crossing (motorcycle). Busy day, parking lot full. Again, nobody in the parking lot to give priority boarding to motorcycles. People confused. I squeezed myself in by making sure I was beside another motorcycle, thus only taking up 1 parking spot instead of 2. Ferry was running behind schedule, reason was not communicated. Interesting side note: on the first trip the off loading made sense, having trucks pulling trailers being stopped and going last, making sure they are not impeding traffic. This time they just off loaded, looked like nobody cared. Yes, I was stuck behind a truck pulling a trailer for a long time. Inconsistent operation. Thanks to their messed up loading/parking practices, they left people behind. (Unnecessary) 1 star.

Fourth trip (5th wheel). Loading took forever, with 1 employee telling you to take a lane, where another 1 tells you to go somewhere else. Every car was stopped while going on the ferry, making loading super slow.

When it was finally our turn to board, we were giving a lane. We were directed by a worker on the left side of the lane. Just before we were stopped, this employee crossed between us and the trailer infront of us. Not smart. If I would not have stopped in time, worker would have been pinned. Again, unnecessary. 1 star

The inconsistency between crews is unbelievable and quite honestly, an accident...