BC Ferries considering axing the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route

They should whack Departure Bay and send all the ferries to Duke Point. Horsehoe Bay still has to remain open to service Langdale, so why not invest there and stop pouring good money after bad on the Departure Bay terminal.
 
while it may make some sense, the article states all major traffic goes thru tsawassen instead of horseshoe at all which would suck! it also doesnt mention how many hundreds of millions the duke pt facility would need to accommodate the huge volumes and multiple ships. I voted no on global and seems 93% of others agree so far...
 
How many millions were spent upgrading the Highway 99/Horseshoe Bay interchange for the 2010 Olympics?

And what would we be left with-a multi lane entrance to nowhere (Langdale be damned since the long term plan is to extend the road around Howe Sound).
 
It makes sense to me. Horseshoe Bay is an abortion of a facility location wise and infrastructure wise. It is perfect for servicing the local routes however. The Departure Bay terminal has wreaked havoc on the locals for way to long. There are better uses for the Departure Bay site. I believe that Duke Point already has the infrastructure in place for more slips. In any event there is land out at Duke Pt. and the cost of upgrading would be better served out at Duke Pt. IMO. They have already upgraded a lot of the infrastructure at the Tsawassen terminal.

I only leave the Island a couple times a year (why leave paradise lol). I avoid the Horseshoe Bay run like the plague. Nanaimo needs to do something with the Departure Bay site besides having a ferry terminal there. The residents of Stewart Avenue deserve this. I know it's a longer run for those that want to go to Whistler etc. but that's just an inconvenience really.
 
I say this is baloney. Pure and simple politics. The guys on the north shore just want to decrease the traffic in their community, but they want the poorer guys on the other side of the inlet to deal with it. First of all that means the time required for the proposed route is going to increase from 100 min to 120 min. BC Ferries always keep telling us how expensive fuel is and that is the major reason for rate increases, however, a simple calculation tells you that now each run will require approx 20% more fuel. Well where is that money going to come from. Secondly, I think the present Tsawwassen Terminal would need some major changes to handle the increased traffic.
 
I doubt that would happen. If it does, however that's one step closer to getting a bridge!


(Langdale be damned since the long term plan is to extend the road around Howe Sound).

This would be so nice.

Too bad it's one of the few routes that BC Ferries actually turns a profit on! Might be a while until I don't have to use their monopolized service yet!
 
I say this is baloney. Pure and simple politics. The guys on the north shore just want to decrease the traffic in their community....
Believe it West Van has been on the record for years as being against the HB terminal they want it gone.
 
I would keep a run from Duke to Horseshoe Bay. Bypass Departure entirely and remove the cost associated with having 2 terminals servicing mid VI. They managed to do it when Duke was shut down for 3 months.

Most of the time they run ferries half empty, and that is because they priced themselves out of the market. Who can afford 70 bucks car and driver anymore? Its cheaper to fly on Harbour Air. Lower the rates and I'm pretty sure you will start to see more people travelling. In the summer, run night time ferries out of Duke Point at cut rates to move the commercial traffic and rec vehicles out of prime times. Might actually increase tourism again...what a novel concept.
 
Well, that would suck.

HB is a great little spot. If you're waiting for a while can take the dog down to play on the beach. Grab a bite in the Village, etc.

Hope it doesn't happen in the 5-7 years they predict.

Unless I have my pilot license by then, win the lottery, and buy a float plane...
 
As much as there are some reasons for cutback sounds fishy. Ridership is down and you have an under performing management in place. The management wages are insane. 500K for a CEO. There are some high tech companies such in Van etc big corporations where CEO's make half that, and they perform. They spend 12 million in management team think about that. 12 million for a team that loses money! Its also is interesting the timing isn't it... It wants to centralize its location and offer more service at that terminal. That's because the new harbour catamaran is coming to Duke point...

http://www.vancouversun.com/busines...recessionary+drag+province/9520800/story.html

Here is the Seattle to Bremerton Route by Washington State Ferries rates. It is 1hour crossing See there rates and weep. I don't expect them to be totally the same but look at those fares something wrong?

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/fares/FaresDetail.aspx?departingterm=7&arrivingterm=4
 
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BCF will argue those US rates are in US funds and that explains the 100% difference in rates. :p
 
Nanaimo has THREE ferry terminals. Thus costs for THREE terminals. Any business with any common sense would change that to ONE terminal at duke point. All three ferry's should run through Duke point. Horeshoe bay, Gabriola and Tswaassen should go through Duke point.
This would be a good cost cutting measure, would get the traffic onto the parkway (byepass) instead of running it through town, and would allow Departure bay to be properly developed and enjoyed instead of being a bloody freeway for 200ft long ships.
As far as I can tell departure bay is just the pipe dream of business types in Nanaimo who fantasize that all those people that get off the ferry will drive by the malls and stop in to shop. That is the last thing you want to do after sitting for 3hrs on the ferry and lineups.
STOP THE INSANITY, MOVE IT ALL TO DUKE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
From someone that lives close it would suck to have to jump on the bypass and then be on the ferry an extra twenty minutes just to end up in bumble#$@# Tsawassen. The whole point of even going to the mainland is to get to Vancouver. The traffic congestion at DB is a problem when loading and unloading but I can walk on there and bus it right to Vancouver all in return for 40 bucks and change much cheaper than Seaair or Harbour Air at a minimum of 55 bucks each way. I think there is a hidden agenda here it has just to rear its ugly head. The latest thing BC ferries wanted to do was to add a bunch of big LED signs at DB at a huge cost so why the sudden shift? Or is management just incompetent...oh wait that is the reason!
 
I agree. When we go to concerts/events we always use horseshoe bay..Way more convenient when staying downtown.
 
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Nanaimo has THREE ferry terminals. Thus costs for THREE terminals. Any business with any common sense would change that to ONE terminal at duke point. All three ferry's should run through Duke point. Horeshoe bay, Gabriola and Tswaassen should go through Duke point.
This would be a good cost cutting measure, would get the traffic onto the parkway (byepass) instead of running it through town, and would allow Departure bay to be properly developed and enjoyed instead of being a bloody freeway for 200ft long ships.
As far as I can tell departure bay is just the pipe dream of business types in Nanaimo who fantasize that all those people that get off the ferry will drive by the malls and stop in to shop. That is the last thing you want to do after sitting for 3hrs on the ferry and lineups.
STOP THE INSANITY, MOVE IT ALL TO DUKE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Were talking about elimination of horseshoe bay though. Not relocating it.
 
As much as there are some reasons for cutback sounds fishy. Ridership is down and you have an under performing management in place. The management wages are insane. 500K for a CEO. There are some high tech companies such in Van etc big corporations where CEO's make half that, and they perform. They spend 12 million in management team think about that. 12 million for a team that loses money! Its also is interesting the timing isn't it... It wants to centralize its location and offer more service at that terminal. That's because the new harbour catamaran is coming to Duke point...

http://www.vancouversun.com/busines...recessionary+drag+province/9520800/story.html

Here is the Seattle to Bremerton Route by Washington State Ferries rates. It is 1hour crossing See there rates and weep. I don't expect them to be totally the same but look at those fares something wrong?

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/fares/FaresDetail.aspx?departingterm=7&arrivingterm=4

Here's a PDF - A Comparison of Operational Performance: Washington State Ferries to Ferry Operators Worldwide that may be of interest. It's from 2010.
 
Tsawassen

this would be a huge blow to Tourism , Tsawassen can barely handle its traffic patterns now ,
there is just not enough real estate to supply adequate room for multiple destination sailing waits ,
especially peak summer months , what a gong show that would be lol , gets more comical every year with what they do...
sure West Van and Departure Bay residents would be ecstatic , i dont blame them ,
but , it is times of change , population is outta control , rail lines , hwys and major routes change annually ,
happens here in Van all the time ,
they pretty much tells us , if we dont like it , MOVE !!

alot of people that ive met through-out my years , that use to travel to the island 3-4 times a year ,
just cant do it anymore ,$$$$..... they make other vacation plans for there families...
i believe , that all residents of BC , regardless of there income , should be able to afford to travel
this route , not just the deeper pockets...

m2b

fd
 
The people who for some reason forgot there was a ferry at departure bay and bought near it have bitched for years about traffic there. now bc ferries is going to give them what they want there is more bitching. moving to duke point is a joke because as soon as it blows 30 they shut down the Tsawwassen side. there is no good choice.
 
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