Post by ferryfast admin on Jul 25, 2011 11:56:27 GMT -5
Proposed Ferry Service Would Be Very Different
www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Proposed-Ferry-Service-Would-Be-Very-Different/d2Sr7jP4OUS6OE42dyVwVQ.cspx
Rochester, N.Y. – A descendant of the famous Rochesterian who founded Western Union wants to launch a new ferry service to Toronto.
Harper Sibley, a businessman who is a partner in a Bahamas resort, said he closely watched the original fast ferry developments and rode it several times.
“The boat was just too big for the route and too expensive to operate,” he said.
Sibley approached city officials in 2005, after the first ferry operation shut down and the city was considering purchasing the boat. He felt the ferry service needed to focus on excursions and vacations, and not transportation. The city ended up buying the boat, a venture for which the city still has $19 million in debt left to pay off.
Sibley’s ferry service would differ in several key ways from the previous operation:
• It would carry 150 passengers, not 750.
• It would no carry cars or trucks.
• It would cost $3 million to start up, as opposed to the more than $50 million required for the first operation.
• It would be flagged U.S.
• The ship would be used, not new.
• It would be marketed to people taking leisure trips.
• It would not seek tax dollars to fund the vessel or operation. “Not one penny,” Sibley said.
The trip would take 2 ½ hours, the same as the previous ferry. Sibley would like round-trip tickets to be less than $100.
“We know the demand is there. The question is can we operate this thing on a profitable basis with the efficiencies of a smaller boat and a better-managed service?” Sibley said. He has already met with Toronto and Rochester officials.
Mayor Tom Richards said this proposal is the most legitimate ferry service he’s seen since the original ferry shut down. He’s approaching the venture cautiously.
“I don’t want it to go in there and fail again. We’re not desperate for this. We have plans for the harbor that are quite developed they’re under way,” he said. “It needs to be a well developed plan with adequate financing so it has a real chance to be successful.”
Richards said the proposal appears to fix some of the things that doomed the first venture. He also said the port would not need major modifications to accommodate the type of ship Sibley would use.
Sibley said he’s shopping all over the world for the right vessel, which he said would cost about $2 million. He could add another vessel in the second year of operation.
Sibley is hoping to launch the service in June 2012.
“I’m not going to launch this until I have all my ducks in a row, financial ducks, the right boat, professional management, marketing on both sides of the lake,” he said.
www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Proposed-Ferry-Service-Would-Be-Very-Different/d2Sr7jP4OUS6OE42dyVwVQ.cspx
Rochester, N.Y. – A descendant of the famous Rochesterian who founded Western Union wants to launch a new ferry service to Toronto.
Harper Sibley, a businessman who is a partner in a Bahamas resort, said he closely watched the original fast ferry developments and rode it several times.
“The boat was just too big for the route and too expensive to operate,” he said.
Sibley approached city officials in 2005, after the first ferry operation shut down and the city was considering purchasing the boat. He felt the ferry service needed to focus on excursions and vacations, and not transportation. The city ended up buying the boat, a venture for which the city still has $19 million in debt left to pay off.
Sibley’s ferry service would differ in several key ways from the previous operation:
• It would carry 150 passengers, not 750.
• It would no carry cars or trucks.
• It would cost $3 million to start up, as opposed to the more than $50 million required for the first operation.
• It would be flagged U.S.
• The ship would be used, not new.
• It would be marketed to people taking leisure trips.
• It would not seek tax dollars to fund the vessel or operation. “Not one penny,” Sibley said.
The trip would take 2 ½ hours, the same as the previous ferry. Sibley would like round-trip tickets to be less than $100.
“We know the demand is there. The question is can we operate this thing on a profitable basis with the efficiencies of a smaller boat and a better-managed service?” Sibley said. He has already met with Toronto and Rochester officials.
Mayor Tom Richards said this proposal is the most legitimate ferry service he’s seen since the original ferry shut down. He’s approaching the venture cautiously.
“I don’t want it to go in there and fail again. We’re not desperate for this. We have plans for the harbor that are quite developed they’re under way,” he said. “It needs to be a well developed plan with adequate financing so it has a real chance to be successful.”
Richards said the proposal appears to fix some of the things that doomed the first venture. He also said the port would not need major modifications to accommodate the type of ship Sibley would use.
Sibley said he’s shopping all over the world for the right vessel, which he said would cost about $2 million. He could add another vessel in the second year of operation.
Sibley is hoping to launch the service in June 2012.
“I’m not going to launch this until I have all my ducks in a row, financial ducks, the right boat, professional management, marketing on both sides of the lake,” he said.