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Ferry

Surrey to the Tsawwassen ferry by taxi: check-in times and pickup

A Yellow Express taxi waiting in a Surrey driveway at dawn

Yellow Express can get you from Surrey to the Tsawwassen ferry 24 hours a day. If you are walking on with a booking, you must check in no later than 30 minutes before your sailing, so plan the cab from the sailing time and work backwards. Without a booking, foot passenger ticket sales close 10 minutes before departure, though BC Ferries asks foot passengers to plan on at least 30.

BC Ferries’ check-in cut-offs at Tsawwassen

These are BC Ferries’ own times for its Vancouver (Tsawwassen) terminal at 1 Ferry Causeway in Delta, read on October 31, 2026. They are the foot passenger times, which apply once the cab drops you off.

  • With a booking, to Victoria or Nanaimo: check-in opens 60 minutes before the scheduled departure and closes 30 minutes before.
  • With a booking, to the Southern Gulf Islands: the same window, 60 minutes to 30 minutes.
  • Without a booking: ticket sales and check-in close 10 minutes before the scheduled departure.

BC Ferries tells foot passengers: “Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before sailing.”

Two of its rules are worth knowing before you leave the house. If you miss a sailing you booked, BC Ferries says you can use the cost of the fare towards another sailing on the same day, and that there are no refunds for cancellations. If you turn up early, you may travel on the next available sailing, subject to space, as long as it is the same day, route and direction you booked.

On October 31, 2026, the board showed Swartz Bay sailings leaving Tsawwassen every two hours from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, so a missed boat that day meant a long sit at the terminal. The pattern changes through the year, so check BC Ferries’ schedule for your date and current conditions on the day.

What time should the taxi pick you up in Surrey?

Your pickup time is the sailing time, minus the check-in cut-off, minus the drive, minus a margin for traffic.

The drive depends on where you start. Newton, Guildford and Cloverdale are different runs. The South Fraser Perimeter Road, officially Highway 17, is the four-lane highway along the south side of the river. When it opened in December 2013, the Province said travel time between Highway 1 in Surrey and the ferry terminal was “now less than 30 minutes”. That figure is more than a decade old, so treat it as the shortest you can expect. Dispatch can tell you what margin the hour needs.

Here is one worked example, using an 11:00 am sailing to Swartz Bay with a booking:

  • Check-in closes at 10:30, so treat that as the latest you can arrive, not the target.
  • Say you allow 35 minutes for the drive from Newton, which takes you to 9:55.
  • Add 30 minutes of margin, and you are asking for a pickup around 9:25.

Those drive and margin times are for illustration. We aim to arrive at the time agreed, but traffic, weather and demand affect pickup times, so leave room.

For anything before 7:00 am, book the evening before. Advance bookings carry no extra charge, and dispatch is open 24 hours.

How much is a taxi from Surrey to the Tsawwassen ferry?

Rides to the ferry run on the meter: $3.75 flag and $2.18 per kilometre, GST included. Those are the figures the BC Passenger Transportation Board lists in Rule 9, its common taxi rate for Metro Vancouver. Our YVR flat rates do not apply to rides to the ferry.

The total depends on where in Surrey you start. As a guide, a 30 km ride works out to about $69 on distance alone, and every 10 km adds about $21.80. For a figure based on your own address, call dispatch at 604-581-1111.

Slow traffic also matters. When a taxi’s speed falls below a set crossover speed, the meter applies the time rate instead of the distance rate, which the Board lists as $38.93 an hour. The full rate card is on our rates page.

Why take a cab to the ferry at all?

Walking on means no vehicle lineup and no car parked at Tsawwassen while you are away. BC Ferries says taxi services are available at the terminal and use its regular pick-up and drop-off areas, so you get out and go straight to check-in.

It also helps if you are travelling with luggage, children (bring your own child seat) or a bike, or with someone who finds transit transfers hard. Tell dispatch about skis, bikes, lots of cases or any accessibility needs when you book, so the right vehicle can be arranged.

What to have ready when you book

Your pickup address, your sailing time and destination, whether you have a ferry booking, and how many people and bags are travelling. We take card and cash, and drivers carry limited change.

You can call dispatch at 604-581-1111 at any hour, book online here, or book with Sam, our automated dispatcher, on this site. Online and Sam bookings are requests until dispatch accepts them, and you will see “Booked” or “You’re booked” once it has. Sam cannot give a fare for this trip, so call dispatch if you want an estimate first.

We cover Surrey, South Surrey, White Rock, Delta and Tsawwassen.

Coming home

Call dispatch before you board with your arrival sailing and ask for the fare from the terminal. BC Ferries posts live sailing times on its current conditions page.

Quick answers

How early do I need to be at Tsawwassen as a foot passenger?

BC Ferries asks foot passengers to plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before sailing. With a booking, check-in opens 60 minutes before departure and closes 30 minutes before. Without a booking, ticket sales and check-in close 10 minutes before departure.

What happens if I miss my sailing?

BC Ferries says you can use the cost of the fare towards another sailing on the same day. There are no refunds for cancellations.

How much is a taxi from Surrey to the Tsawwassen ferry?

A Yellow Express taxi from Surrey to the Tsawwassen ferry runs on the meter at $3.75 flag plus $2.18 per kilometre, GST included. A 30 km ride works out to about $69 on distance alone. The total depends on where in Surrey you start, so call dispatch at 604-581-1111 with your address for an estimate.

Do your YVR flat rates apply to the ferry?

No. Yellow Express’s YVR flat rates do not apply to rides to the Tsawwassen ferry, which run on the meter.

How long is the crossing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay?

BC Ferries lists the sailing at 1 hour 35 minutes.

Tell us your sailing time when you book, and we will work back from it with you. Dispatch is open 24 hours at 604-581-1111.

Sources, all retrieved October 31, 2026, except where dated: BC Ferries, Vancouver (Tsawwassen) terminal page, foot passenger check-in and boarding and Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay current conditions; BC Gov News, “South Fraser Perimeter Road, B.C.’s newest highway, opens” (December 21, 2013); BC Passenger Transportation Board, Rule 9, common rate, Metro Vancouver and taxi rates.