The ferry that normally serves northern Vancouver Island returned to service Wednesday, after commuters were forced to take a smaller vessel over the past few months. 

In mid-October, B.C. Ferries moved the Island Aurora, which operates on the route connecting Port McNeill to Alert Bay and Sointula, to other routes to help out while other vessels were being repaired. 

It was replaced with a smaller ferry, the Quadra Queen II, which had less than half the space for passengers, and room for 26 vehicles compared to the Island Aurora’s 47. 

Residents say the smaller vessel meant passengers who usually made it onto the ferry would end up having to wait for the next sailing, making them late for work or appointments. 

It became such an issue that Sointula resident Sara Wood chose to live on her boat rather than attempt taking the ferry to her teaching job in Port McNeill. 

“I need to be there on time,” she told CBC’s On The Island. 

She and a friend, Julie Trépanier, stayed on the boat together.

“After a few times of the ferry being quite late, a fellow teacher and I decided that we could just bypass the whole thing if we lived on my boat in Port McNeill. So that’s what we did.”

Wood has stayed on her boat during the week for the past three months. 

She said she knows of other people who stayed with friends in Port McNeill during the week to avoid similar delays. 

Other residents expressed frustration with B.C. Ferries, saying their concerns and suggestions to fix the problem fell on deaf ears. 

In an email to CBC News, B.C. Ferries said it has been in touch with customers, First Nations and local officials over the last several months.

“Their feedback has helped us understand the real impacts on daily travel, healthcare access, and essential services,” spokesperson Sheila Reynolds said in the email.

B.C. Ferries said the smaller vessel won’t be used on that route in the future.

“As new Island Class vessels arrive and enter service, B.C. Ferries will have greater fleet resilience, which will help reduce the likelihood of similar service adjustments in the future and improve reliability for coastal communities.”

Wood said she will now go back to living in her home in Sointula, but wonders why B.C. Ferries didn’t address the problem months ago. 

“I don’t know all the things that have to go into these decisions,” she said, explaining that the route tended to back up during loading, and would get worse through the day. 

“Why couldn’t they have a schedule that could accommodate these delays so that even if it was running late or even if the schedule was different, it would be predictable. I think it was the unpredictability that would really impact people.”