BC Ferries

[goatboy]

if we can build an olympic village we can surely build a bridge?

Sure, not much of a price difference, I'm sure. Just as easy as well. And let's not even get started on the Environmental nut cases that would come out of the woodwork.

Never going to happen.

[GordonH]

if we can build an olympic village we can surely build a bridge?

Okay I will bite, where would this bridge be built (from what point mainland to what point on the Island).

Also knowing the new Port Mann cost roughly 1 billion +/- (just the bridge).

[sooperphreek]

let the engineers figure it out.

[GordonH]

let the engineers figure it out.

I will throw some stuff out there:
● Mainland starting point would have to be near Vancouver
● Would need to have solid base, so north of YVR
● that would mean 35 Km +/- minimum distance (University Endowment Lands to Gabriola island)
● Issue is that is shipping route the bridge would need to be high enough for the largest vessels to safely pass under.

Adds up to be one hell of price tag. Oh before you ask I'm not engineer.

Added later: a tunnel in todays price the English Channel tunnel would cost $21,385,300,000 in Canadian dollars.

[twobits]

I will throw some stuff out there:
● Mainland starting point would have to be near Vancouver
● Would need to have solid base, so north of YVR
● that would mean 35 Km +/- minimum distance (University Endowment Lands to Gabriola island)
● Issue is that is shipping route the bridge would need to be high enough for the largest vessels to safely pass under.

Adds up to be one hell of price tag. Oh before you ask I'm not engineer.

Added later: a tunnel in todays price the English Channel tunnel would cost $21,385,300,000 in Canadian dollars.

The super freak is just dreaming of more make work programs. As a staunch NDP'er, a bridge to Vancouver Island is as easy and makes as much sense as Fast Cat Ferries. NDP engineering 101. Don't waste keystrokes. The freak has a scratch in his record.....every six weeks "it" posts...."just build a bridge". "It" is like an ex that just wants to torment you for 20 yrs just cuz they can.

[Glacier]

Ah yes, the old bait and switch by Mr. Stone.

It was one of the more remarkable 24-hour circus acts Victoria has seen in a while — and that’s saying something for a place with so many clowns on parade.

It started Tuesday when Transportation Minister Todd Stone said the government might shut down the bustling Departure Bay ferry terminal near Nanaimo and reroute all mainland-bound traffic through Tsawwassen to save money.

It was an insane idea that would have funnelled more than a million vehicles and three million passengers a year though an already-clogged commuter corridor.

Stone came to his senses the next day, called the whole thing off, and tried to sound like a hero for listening to the angry mob howling outside his door.

But how do you explain why he proposed such a preposterous plan in the first place? Temporary insanity? Good old-fashioned bone-headed incompetence?

Maybe. But some people detected method in his madness.

“It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, you know,” said Chris Abbott, head of the B.C. Ferries workers’ union.

“You throw the most-hated idea out there, you retract it when people get angry, and then everything else looks better by comparison.”

Ah, yes, the old switcheroo! And look who popped up to flick the switch:

“We’re looking at having difficulty now keeping fares (down),” said B.C. Ferries president Mike Corrigan. “That’s going to be basically impossible now.”

Translated message to the public: OK, you can keep your stinkin’ ferry terminal. But you’re going to have to pay more. And remember — it was your choice.

Don’t forget they already jacked up fares between 50 and 75 per cent, depending on the route. And Stone said just a few weeks ago that fares have reached a “tipping point” and he wants to keep future increases to a minimum.

But here’s the most frustrating part: As the government and B.C. Ferries continue to inflict brutal fare hikes and service cuts on the public, they refuse to consider alternative ways to cut costs and increase revenue.

“They could save a ton of money by reducing the number of middle managers,” said Abbott, the union president.

“I remember back in 1999, they had nine terminal managers reporting to one of two vice-presidents. Now there are 24 terminal managers reporting to four regional managers who report to four regional directors who report to two terminal operations superintendents who report to the terminal operations director who reports to the vice-president of customer services.”

Abbott said B.C. Ferries has just six workers for every manager, while the employee-manager ratio in the very comparable Washington State Ferry Service is 40-1.

“Why can Washington state run their ferry service with so fewer managers?” he asks. “It’s crazy.”

But B.C. Ferries says many of Washington’s ferry managers actually work for the state government, so they don’t appear in the statistics, and the union is counting some people as “managers” who really aren’t.

B.C. Ferries told me it has 4,400 full-time-equivalent employees. Out of that, there are 475 managers or a ratio of about 8-1.

“That’s still insane,” Abbott said.

He has a suggestion for how all those managers could raise money for B.C. Ferries: sell advertising.

“I’ve never understood why they don’t have more advertising on board the vessels,” he said.

“I know some people might not like seeing a Coca-Cola logo or a Nike swish painted on the side of a ferry, but think about it: You have a captive audience on board for hours. Why not sell more ads? They have ads plastered all over buses and other transit vehicles, so why not ferries?”

I thought it was an intriguing idea, so I asked B.C. Ferries how much money they raised from advertising last year. I was told the information was not available and was directed to the company’s last annual report.

The report’s financial tables did not detail any advertising revenue. You have to wonder why.

“They should hire a bunch of salespeople, put them on commission and get them out there pounding the pavement and hustling ad sales,” Abbott said.

“Isn’t that the way a well-run corporation is supposed to function? Instead, it seems like the only innovative ideas they ever come up with are to cut service or increase fares.”

And how well compensated they are for doing it!

The last annual report may not have included any details on advertising sales but it did include details on the latest performance bonus bagged by Corrigan, the ferries boss.

Corrigan received total compensation of $499,053 last year. That included a “salary holdback” bonus of $48,558 for meeting performance targets that included “collaborating with the provincial government on a long-term vision for coastal ferry services.”

It appears that vision will include more fare hikes.

Maybe they should sell more ads instead.

http://www.theprovince.com/life/Smyth+F ... ederated=1

[TedD]

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/11/vanc ... oes-viral/

Vancouver Island resident Sean Smith’s rant against BC Ferries’ cruise ship-like operations has gone viral on Facebook.

Smith, who is a Canadian war veteran, published his rant just two days ago. At the time of publishing, the post has received nearly 4,000 likes and 3,300 shares.

The post targets the ferry corporation’s vessel amenities and marketing strategies, even though it is an essential service between the Island and the mainland.

Read more: Vancity Buzz: Vancouver Island man’s rant against BC Ferries goes viral

Full Facebook comment:

Dear BC Ferries.

I know that you are having a hard time trying to figure out ways to save money. Please, let me help you.

1. You are not a cruise ship line. You are a bus.

2. You are not a travel agency. You are the travel method.

3. You do not need to advertise. You are the ONLY alternative.

So, with these three things in mind, please consider the following. You need a news stand, not a gift shop. You need a cafeteria, not a restaurant. You don’t need slot machines, you need good WiFi and some big screen TV’s. You don’t need a “marketing department”, you need a full on Social Media and Customers Service department. You don’t need a fancy travel office or vacation planning department, you need plan to keep the actual travel agents informed of what is happening with your ferry service.

I shouldn’t see the BC Ferries logo on the boards at Rogers Arena during a Canucks game, or on a TV commercial. Believe it or not, people really are smart enough to figure out that if there isn’t a bridge or a tunnel to the Islands, then they will have to take a ferry or a plane…..and you can’t get your car into your carry on luggage.

See. I just saved you millions upon millions of dollars.

You’re welcome.

[GordonH]

Full Facebook comment:

Dear BC Ferries.

I know that you are having a hard time trying to figure out ways to save money. Please, let me help you.

1. You are not a cruise ship line. You are a bus.

2. You are not a travel agency. You are the travel method.

3. You do not need to advertise. You are the ONLY alternative.

So, with these three things in mind, please consider the following. You need a news stand, not a gift shop. You need a cafeteria, not a restaurant. You don’t need slot machines, you need good WiFi and some big screen TV’s. You don’t need a “marketing department”, you need a full on Social Media and Customers Service department. You don’t need a fancy travel office or vacation planning department, you need plan to keep the actual travel agents informed of what is happening with your ferry service.

I shouldn’t see the BC Ferries logo on the boards at Rogers Arena during a Canucks game, or on a TV commercial. Believe it or not, people really are smart enough to figure out that if there isn’t a bridge or a tunnel to the Islands, then they will have to take a ferry or a plane…..and you can’t get your car into your carry on luggage.

See. I just saved you millions upon millions of dollars.

You’re welcome.

As for the Horseshoe Bay terminal to the Island:
4) It's part of the Trans-Canada highway

[sooperphreek]

surely if we can put a probe on a comet we can build a bridge to the island? put the 250 million towards upgrades in horseshoe as a start.

[GordonH]

Everyone make a run to the Ferries savings are happening: http://www.castanet.net/news/BC/128899/ ... -surcharge

Just don't get your hopes up for big savings. lol

[sooperphreek]

Uh oh. Inevitable bridge may happen. Building one to the commuter islands of Vancouver.

[GordonH]

Uh oh. Inevitable bridge may happen. Building one to the commuter islands of Vancouver.

Provide proof of this

[I Think]

Last time I visited the Island the ferries were running with lots of empty spaces.
The way you deal with oversupply is to cut your prices, simple business.
Ferries forgets that it needs to act using sound business practices.

Political moves like dumping the fast ferries are expensive, no reason those boats could not have been re powered with reliable slow engines and run at a slower speed than originally planned for. The FF were a boondoggle but could have been fixed.

[sooperphreek]

The problem is that today's business practices are profit driven first and fiscal second. The government uses the ferries as an indirect tax grab. So the coffers come first paying for LNG and the operating costs come 2nd. It's simply a case of bad arithmetic to create liquidity. Kind of like harper balancing things by robbing ei premiums and making it harder to collect.

[GordonH]

The problem is that today's business practices are profit driven first and fiscal second. The government uses the ferries as an indirect tax grab. So the coffers come first paying for LNG and the operating costs come 2nd. It's simply a case of bad arithmetic to create liquidity. Kind of like harper balancing things by robbing ei premiums and making it harder to collect.

Well, without a profit were would the money come from to repair vessels or replace aging ones. Plus the day to day cost of operating each vessel, or so should they run at a loss then borrow the money needed to repair &/or replace each vessel.
Its one or the other, run at profit or run at loss.

Of course those vessels that run from Horseshoe Bay to Vancouver Island should be part of the Federal Government since it is part of Trans-Canada hwy.

Added later: There is absolutely no guarantee of daily ridership, some days maybe high meanwhile other may be low.