A BC Ferries ship with a background of mountains under a cloudy sky, with calm waters reflecting the landscape.

BC Ferries

Transforming Booking, Ticketing, and Check-In to Enhance Customer Experience and Optimize Operations

BC Ferries partnered with E-Dea to drive a large-scale transformation, implementing a new booking, ticketing, and check-in system as part of its ACE (Automated Customer Experience) program. By leveraging modular functionalities, BC Ferries transitioned to a reservation-based model, improved customer experience, and established a foundation for optimized capacity and revenue management. 

BC Ferries is one of the world’s largest ferry operators, connecting 25 routes to 47 terminals with:

19.7 million

passengers annually

A fleet of 35 vessels

and over 183,000 sailings per year

7.6 million

vehicles annually

BC Ferries serves as a vital link for British Columbia’s coastal communities, facilitating the movement of people, goods, and services.  

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Initial Challenges: 

  • Transition from a traditional “show & go” model to a modern reservation-based system. 

  • Improve customer experience with an integrated, seamless booking, ticketing, and check-in solution. 

  • Optimize capacity management and enable dynamic pricing to drive profitability and business agility. 

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Goals: 

  • Deliver a seamless, end-to-end automated customer experience. 

  • Increase ridership and revenue through advanced reservations and targeted pricing strategies. 

  • Enable faster time-to-market for new products and services. 

Platform 

E-Dea implemented a tailored combination of modules to power BC Ferries' Booking, Ticketing, and Check-In (BTC) system: 

Reservation Management 

  • Enabled advanced bookings for passengers and vehicles across multiple routes and sailings. 

  • Allowed dynamic booking workflows, including modifications and cancellations. 

Pricing and Revenue Management

  • Delivered price flexibility with dynamic fare rules and demand-based pricing models. 

  • Implemented targeted marketing strategies to drive advanced purchase incentives and revenue growth. 

Automation and Efficiency 

  • Deployed event-driven automation to assign lanes, validate tickets, and process check-ins with minimal manual input. 

  • Reduced queue times and manual tasks with kiosks for passenger check-in and mobile validation solutions. 

  • Configured alerts and notifications for capacity updates and system exceptions, ensuring smoother operations. 

Technology, Integration, and Compliance

  • Ensured scalability and business agility with a SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) ecosystem. 

  • Integrated seamlessly with BC Ferries’ existing systems and third-party vendors. 

Achieved Results 

By implementing E-Dea, BC Ferries achieved:

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Transition to a Reservation Model

Successfully moved from a “show & go” approach to an advanced booking system, improving operational predictability and capacity management.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Increased online and mobile reservations, offering passengers greater flexibility and convenience. 

Optimized Revenue

Implemented price flexibility and demand management to drive higher profitability.

Improved Business Agility

Enabled faster time-to-market for new products and services within a scalable, technology-driven ecosystem.

Effective Capacity Management

Balanced demand and availability, maximizing resource utilization and reducing operational costs.