An Oak Bay resident is helping British Columbians navigate BC Ferries sailing times and capacities more easily with a rebranded mobile app that carries on the legacy of its predecessor.

B次元官网网址淚 find the BC Ferries website a bit confusing,B次元官网网址� said 22-year-old Samuel Pratt, who works for VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Kano gaming studio and wanted to offer a more convenient and intuitive way to view sailings.

He released BC Ferry Times in April for iPhone after revitalizing the interface of the former Ferry Rush BC app that ran from August 2013 to late 2021. Pratt reached out to the appB次元官网网址檚 developer, Salmon Runner, which B次元官网网址渟craped dataB次元官网网址� from BC Ferries to show its sailings, and received the code to keep the project going under a new name.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a nice convenience we should continue to have.B次元官网网址�

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Ferry Rush BC shut down due to the increasing workload of following BC Ferries website updates and accessing data from several different pages. Pratt worked around this issue by using information from a 24-7 open-source server, instead of having the app retrieve the data directly from the website.

In an B次元官网网址渆asy-to-useB次元官网网址� format, his app displays up-to-date schedule and sailing capacity details for all major BC Ferries terminals. Enabling location services allows the app to show the nearest terminal when users open it.

B次元官网网址淧eople have been reacting super positively,B次元官网网址� Pratt said, adding that users have given lots of useful feedback so far.

He studied computer science for two years at the University of Victoria and often uses BC Ferries to visit family and access destinations like Salt Spring Island and the Sunshine Coast. Though he doesnB次元官网网址檛 collect ferry usage data himself for the app, Pratt observes that the Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay terminals receive some of the most traffic.

B次元官网网址淭he other routes, itB次元官网网址檚 more a static schedule,B次元官网网址� he said of the non-capacity sailings.

People can navigate the majority of his app for free but may access nonessential perks for $4 if theyB次元官网网址檙e frequent users or want to support further improvements and add-ons.

B次元官网网址淭he idea is I donB次元官网网址檛 want to put anything essential behind a paywall.B次元官网网址�

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Along with adding non-capacity routes, future plans for PrattB次元官网网址檚 app include linking it to the BC Ferries location-tracking website and making it available on Android, which he said presents a whole other project.

B次元官网网址淵ou basically need to build it up from scratch a second time.B次元官网网址�

He also hopes to make a similar version of BC Ferry Times for Washington State Ferries with the same user interface.

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