I disagree the buck should stop and start at the top. The same thing is going on in the Lower Mainland Transit Authority. Sky train cops from all over Canada retiring at 50 with full and generous Publicly paid Pensions then come to Skytrain and Double dip for an additional $75 grand per year being just one example. Then the Govenor of the Bank of Canada states that young people should intern for free to keep their skills relevant while the gout bags keep feeding. That list of characters on the BC Ferries Board says it all.
BC Ferries considering axing the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route
- Thread starter Dave S
- Start date
bigbruce
Crew Member
My comment had nothing to do with the quality of management or the compensation paid to public sector employees. I was simply trying to keep the discussion on track with respect to the issue that was at hand - which, apparently is now moot- which is unfortunate as I would like to have seen the full financial impact of rejigging the routes to the mid-island.
searun
Well-Known Member
Amazingly I find myself actually agreeing with Minister Stone. Makes no sense to close down HSB. The only move that makes any sense is closing down Departure Bay. I would keep Duke Pt, and run both routes to there. As said before, I would also bring back late night cut rate sailings to encourage more RV's & commercial traffic travelling at night to take the load off day time sailings in the busy summer months. Tourism and commercial business deserves a much needed booster shot in the arm.
bigbruce
Crew Member
Might agree with you if I knew how much it was going to cost for the capital improvements required to keep the terminal at HSB up and running - as well as the capital improvements that would be necessary to upgrade Duke Point to handle more than one route. I would expect that at least one more slip would be required at Duke Point for the large ferry traffic as well as a slip to handle the Gabriola Island ship. Unfortunately, due to Mr Stone's flip-flop, we may never know the economics of the original proposal.
Just to be clear, here, I'm not advocating making any changes to routes and/or terminals. I find it incredibly disappointing that the politicians, who appear to be unwilling to put any more money into the system but who would rather the ferry riders pick up an ever increasing amount of the operating costs of the system, are unprepared to even look at the financial impact of making changes to the routing and terminals.
Last edited by a moderator:
trophy fisher
Active Member
Took advantage of the discounted overlength rates this past August coming back from holidays. Drove from Campbell River to Swartz Bay to catch a 4pm sailing and save $160. Great deal. Just wish they offered it more frequently. (was only Wed or Sat evenings) Someone at BCF must realize that to lower the subsidized cost per passenger you need to get more people on the boats. Best way to do that is to cut the rates. When ridership numbers start to drop off from previous years then the rates have increased too much.
Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
Pat-- I guess you have forgotten about this.... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...rash-shuts-down-terminal-for-months-1.1001810
now just imagine the chaos if that had happened after Departure Bay was closed...... closing ANY terminal in the guise of better customer service/money saving is a fools game.
Fish Assassin
Crew Member
Remember Duke Point and Tsawassen are man made...... What happens if there is a disaster. Would either terminal still be there? I'd bet a good shake could close both terminals.
Is Gordo still running the province. He didn't care about service. He just wanted BC Ferries off the government books, so he hired a CEO and paid him over $1,000,000 per year to accomplish very little and he started this non-sense of outrageously high ferry rates. Have these guys forgotten that BC Ferries should be providing a service to the public. Yes it would be nice if the operation would be self-sufficient. Does our highway system support itself? It is my view that at the very least the major routes to the island should in fact be a part of the highway system.
sly_karma
Crew Member
Horseshoe Bay had a big overhaul a dozen years back but obviously they didn't get it right, still can't handle the peak load days. Overall ridership is dropping as we all know, so the volume through there should be at or under the levels designers would have based that earlier work on. Why can't this expensively and disruptively renovated facility handle summer weekend traffic? We've seen Sunny Coast ferries sailing well below full capacity whilst the lineups outside the terminal were 3-4 km and several hours long - toll booths couldn't handle volume. So much fun sitting on shoulder of freeway with semis blasting past for 2 hours.
Being one of those tourists, I almost need Canadian medical care when they tell me how much I need to pay for my truck and boat. If I want to go to Powell river, Why does a vehicle up to 20' cost $50 return from saltery bay to Earls cove, and then ding me $6.45 a foot for the boat and trailer? My truck is 20', trailer is 25'. So the truck is $49.64 and the trailer is $161. $126 for the second 20'. My truck and trailer take up less room than 2 cars. This has to impact tourism!! And I have had to wait for another ferry at Tassawan, because they decided to load later cars in place of waiting boaters.
I would consider the extra charge of an RV or boat a Luxury tax. Would suck for my family to miss a ferry during prime time because Joe tourist and wife 30 seconds ahead of me have a motor home and boat they want to get across.
Fish Assassin
Crew Member
WTF are you smoking........
Huh? I don't feel too sorry for people who can afford boats, motor homes etc. when they complain about getting dinged extra fares for taking up space on publicly subsidized and often busy ferries. Same kind of people I guess that ***** about paying $10 to launch 100 g boat.
Fish Assassin
Crew Member
First come first serve.....
I'd rather pay for two vehicles then one and a boat or an over leght vehicle. These guys already pay a premium. They have already been taxed on these over priced fares.....
Maybe you should just show up earlier and get on the boat you want or buy a reservation.
I'd rather pay for two vehicles then one and a boat or an over leght vehicle. These guys already pay a premium. They have already been taxed on these over priced fares.....
Maybe you should just show up earlier and get on the boat you want or buy a reservation.
WTF. I saved and bought a boat. Bought this one in 1995. So do you smoke, or drink? You must have a fishing time, as you are on this board. I have a 2004 diesel pickup. Same pickup lots of families use to cross on the ferry. What makes you special? I do complain about some of the launch fees. Most of the time not, but a few places overcharge. A lot more the $10.
I also complain about the charge to cross the San Francisco bridges. $5 in a car. $20 with a 4 wheel trailer. Boat and trailer weigh 1/2 the truck.
ziggy
Well-Known Member
If BC Residents subsidise the ferries through their taxes, why do they pay the same as out of Province visitors? Aren't we then paying more for the same service?
Why do the minor routes have an option of buying a Coast Saver card which gives them a 25% discount on published minor route fares? Yet no deals on the routes that break even or make a profit?
I think it's ridiculous to refer to the ferries as a business given all the imposed restrictions they have.
Why do the minor routes have an option of buying a Coast Saver card which gives them a 25% discount on published minor route fares? Yet no deals on the routes that break even or make a profit?
I think it's ridiculous to refer to the ferries as a business given all the imposed restrictions they have.
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Oh my god. You cant be serious.
Similar threads
