Editor:
We have been full time residents on the Sunshine Coast since 1989 and currently live in West Sechelt. Year by year we are getting older and require more frequent ferry trips to Horseshoe Bay for medical visits with specialists and procedures at Lions Gate Hospital from time to time. We have really appreciated the ferry requisitions [TAP form], which pays for our trip on the ferry. Year by year the demands on the ferry have increased dramatically and BC Ferries introduced reservations. The reservation system does not always work for those patients who must be at the specialist or hospital for a procedure. Sometimes these appointments do not provide sufficient time for us to get a reservation. I have experienced this several times and it is very frustrating. Getting ready for a procedure is difficult at best and coming home after the procedure almost always extremely difficult. I talked to BC Ferries and their suggestions were totally unacceptable. The medical system and BC Ferries are both run by the B.C. government. The TAP form is perfect and has worked well every time. The answer to all of this is very simple. The TAP form should be shown at Langdale when checking in and that should put our vehicle in an assured loading lane and the same for when we get back at Horseshoe Bay to return home. I guess this is far too simple for the B.C. government to figure out.
D. Brent Blake, Sechelt
