NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. – Marine Atlantic says recent changes to its controversial booking system should help smooth out some problems, but some truckers still aren’t so sure.

On its website, the Crown Corporation announced that in response to complaints from small fleets and independent truck operators, bookings will be restricted to 28 days in advance.

The ferry service has also scrapped late fees; will correct problems with manifests and allow more trucks to board; and will create a working committee to "keep lines of communication" with operators open.

As well, Marine Atlantic has created a sailings performance report and customers will eventually be able to change or cancel reservations online.

Small carriers and owner-ops have argued that the booking system which replaced the first-come, first served model, allows larger companies to make large block bookings and them cancel them — leaving owner-ops who rely more on shorter term business out in the cold.

Some operators told local media that they don’t think things will improve until the reservation system is cancelled altogether.

Marine Atlantic is still considering providing dedicated allotments to companies based on their usage history services as well as the removal of the booking prepayment.