David Hahn calling 'er quits!

Hopefully we'll get someone who's less of a meathead that will realize that "dropping" the prices will increase ridership, and not trying to entertain people n a 2 hour ferry ride lol.
 
I've had the pleasure of fishing with him for the past 3 or 4 years. Great guy, well liked and respected up and down the ranks within the corporation. I hope the government doesn't find a "fast cat" bureaucrat to run it now.
 
profisher said:
I've had the pleasure of fishing with him for the past 3 or 4 years. Great guy, well liked and respected up and down the ranks within the corporation. I hope the government doesn't find a "fast cat" bureaucrat to run it now.
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I'm sure he's a nice guy in person just like anyone, but hiking ferry fares to where no one uses them unless necessary, probably hurt alot of people out there. At least he likes fishing (Thumbs up)
I wonder how the employees are going to take all the benefit cuts planned.
 
Well I bet he would say, I'll guarantee a rate cut if you guarantee full ferries. The ferries aren't going to fill up with a rate cut. Face it, summer tourist traffic is down all across this country, not just the ferry terminals. If you want hourly sailings back and forth to the mainland that run anything less than full then the price per vehicle has to reflect the empty spaces and the cost of fuel. He's no dummy but in a lousy position trying to run a corporation that comes with a lot of political baggage.
 
I wouldn't be surprised as part of his retirement package he will probably get a life time ferry pass. He started at around $250,000 and ten years later he gets $1,000,000 and an obscene pension - but then who is really to blame, non other than Gordo.
 
I just checked the prices on the vehicle and 1 passenger for the "Coho" and its $60.50 plus a $3.50 fuel surcharge, so $64.00 US. BC ferries is $63.00 for Swartz to Twass tomorrow. Seems like they are getting good money to ride on a 40 year old tin can that runs a couple times a day. Maybe everyone should ***** about the price on all the ferries on the Island instead of singling out just one. I don't think this is a David Hahn problem!
 
Dad retired from ferries with 35+ yrs of service, I was 7 or so in myself when Hahns regime took over. Crosed paths/
had meetings with him and his sr. executive, here and abroad. After 10 yrs voted with my feet and walked.
Now avoid ferries if at all possible, it is an absolutely screwed "company".
 
Its a service not a business... gotta try and find a middle ground that satisfies the public's need travel at a reasonable cost... ferries are a fact of life if you live in BC, always have been.. Stop trying to make it something it isnt and never has been...
 
If all they are is an extension of a hwy then we don't need the boats to be so fancy, the terminals should be more in line with what is built for the other carriers and the sailings should be cut back so that they always leave full. It could be real cheap if all the boats were nothing more than a floating parking lot where you drive on, sit in your car and drive off.
 
I haven't stayed overly close to the subject of "what" the people want on the boats as I either travel on them for business and pleasure and as long as the seat is comfortable I am happy with my laptop chillin' out. If the ferry has one of the "lounges" that costs 10 bucks to go into (Seaview lounge or something like that) I always use them; it's quiet, newspapers/magazines to read, comfortable chairs and all sorts of coffee/snack to nibble on.

The times I have read "user feedback" has been on a few runs to the Gulf Islands this past summer and also on the Horseshoe/Nanaimo and Langdale route. The "daily" users sure do seem to complain quite a bit about the ferries on some of the routes. Gulf Islanders seem very concerned about the state of the ferries that service them and complain about comfort, food service etc etc.

"Yes"....rates have increased but so has the price of fuel, wages of those on the "frontline" (they ARE union), all costs of doing business. All the while the Canadian dollar has increased about 40% vs the US dollar since Hahn took over and that has an impact on the tourist visits AND dollars that are spent in this province (oh...and a slight global economic problem that also will effect tourist dollars spent here).

Tourist dollars may be slightly more difficult to track on BCFerries routes but one only has to look to Whistler (where I spend a ton of my time through the winter) to see the lack of tourists compared to even 3-4 years ago.

As profisher stated....a decrease in rates is not going to magically fill up the ferries on a daily basis. Sure....people may be more apt to take their vehicle across from Tswassen to Swartz on Thanksgiving weekend as opposed to walking on and being picked up on the other side but it is NOT going to have a huge dramatic effect on revenue.

If the boats are not operating at close to 70% capacity then you do have a problem and fares that are going to reflect that.

If anyone thought rates were going to stay where they were 8 years ago....you'd be crazy.
 
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On a lighter note. After lasts years trip we were taking pics of David and his son with the fish. They knelt down behind their catch and David half tripped backward on a hose laying behind him on the dock. He came close to loosing his balance and going in for a swim. He said to me...if you had of gotten that picture it would have sold for a pretty price.
 
Rollie I guess that gives him some sort of human quality lmao! The ferries were designed to run as trans link a so called extension of highways,things ran ok before he got on board.I'm not sad to see him go,the whole thing reeks of mismanagement.The irony is we'll have to throw more of our hard earned money at it & endure longer lines to get off the rock!...SS
 
I agree with Rollie on one thing we don't need boats designed like cruise ships to get the job done.So what happens to his pension now that he leaves his job early,which by the way also leaves a bad taste in my mouth...SS
 
Pippen said:
He forfeits his remaining salary on his contract but still gets his pension.
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Nice,try that in the public sector & see what you get!
 
When you compare the ferry experience before Hahn and after, all I can say is WOW! Much better and I don't mind paying, but I do feel for those who use the ferry as regular transportation, they probably don't need all the bells and whistles or the added costs associated.
 
An interesting tidbit that I have come across.. The ferry system is mired in debt..right? Well then can someone tell me why , starting in October, is the ferry service planning to begin construction on a new terminal from Denman Is to Hornby Is at a cost of approx $28 M ??? during the construction phase they will be using water taxis ....With the $2M that the consultants will be getting for studying the cable ferry proposal from Buckley Bay to Denman, it comes to a whopping $30M of our taxpayers dollars. Will some one please tell me I am wrong!!!

This sure isnt user pays, or no one could afford to get on and off the islands....
 
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