The title says 'could' like it's a faraway fantasy thing instead of the very next thing that has to happen.
This balkanization of coastal and inland ferries and the highway system, to pit one against another, has severely disadvantaged the people on the Island economically with higher costs, reduced service and access to the mainland, and causing the stagnation of small towns.
As our population grows, we need to breathe life into these towns. These small towns need service providers, new infrastructure and cost reduction, but the densification and consolidation of housing in these areas is impaired by the poor service TO them.
Edit: Same article from 2 years ago.
And it's dead. The same hand who over-saw Translink before its ransomware boogaloo is involved in this. If you're the finger-pointy type, it's hard to keep your digits to yourself.
But - obligatory imperfect-is-better-than-wrong reminder - the Cons aren't about to bring BCFerries back into the fold, as they're not really about consolidation and cost-savings; and we've seen how the BCLibs/SocCred/United/nom-de-jour party did treat consolidated infrastructure with the BCRail deal where the only 'selling' was an idea and justification to the public after the transaction.