Post by ferryfast admin on Dec 3, 2011 11:30:41 GMT -5
B.C. Ferries still struggling
By Robert Barron, The Daily News December 3, 2011
www.canada.com/Ferries+still+struggling/5807504/story.html
There were no celebrations in the streets of Nanaimo on Thursday as B.C. Ferries celebrated its 50th anniversary serving the city.
You would think that in a community so dependent on the ferry system to meet its daily transportation needs such a milestone would have been recognized with speeches from company officials and other dignitaries in a big event in the downtown core.
But with the corporation is in deep financial trouble and looking to deal with its crisis mainly on the backs of its customers, there's little goodwill left among many in the city for the beleaguered corporation.
Traffic on all B.C. Ferries' routes has seen a steady decline for some time and critics claim that the corporation's decision to raise its fares as the economy worsened for many is a major reason why the company is in financial trouble.
It now costs more than $100 for a family of four and their vehicle to travel one-way between Nanaimo and Vancouver, much more than many are willing to pay as the global economy continues to struggle along.
This has seen a significant drop in tourists to the Island and local use of the ferries as well.
To make matters worse, the corporation announced that it intends to add a 5% fuel surcharge on all the major routes between the Island and the Lower Mainland beginning on Dec. 12.
Joe Stanhope, chairman of the Regional District of Nanaimo, told me this week that he can remember that the cost of a car on the ferry between Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay was $5, plus $1.80 per person, when the government took over the ferry run from Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1961.
The prices stayed about the same for many years after, he said.
Of course, inflation and the price of living have increased dramatically over the past 50 years so we should expect that the costs of taking the ferry will rise as well.
But the corporation has raised its prices beyond the ability, and the will, of many of its customers to pay.
Facing a shortfall that is projected to be more than $20 million during the current fiscal year, the province's ferry commissioner Gord Macatee is conducting a review of B.C. Ferries' operations and he is expected to table a report for the government by the end of January.
Because the government is the main shareholder in B.C. Ferries, it will have the opportunity after the report is tabled to come up with solutions to the corporation's woes and even legislate them into law if it seems appropriate.
But the leaders of all the regional districts on Vancouver Island, as well as a number from the Lower Mainland, intend to keep the feet of the government and the corporation close to the fire on the issue.
The leaders, who claim to represent approximately 70% of the province's population, want the entire corporation restructured and have some of their members sit on its board of directors.
They also want the ferry system treated as part of the province's highway system, paid for by all B.C. residents as the highways are, and not just by the users of the ferry system.
Colin Palmer, chairman of the Powell River Regional District, said after a meeting on the issue of regional leaders in Nanaimo in September that while the leaders are not advocating reverting B.C. Ferries back to a Crown corporation, the current organization is "deeply flawed" and its growing problems are having a "devastating" effect on local economies.
I wonder if Macatee is feeling the pressure as he writes his report.
" Contact reporter Robert Barron at RBarron@nanaimodailynews.com or by phone at 250-729-4234
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By Robert Barron, The Daily News December 3, 2011
www.canada.com/Ferries+still+struggling/5807504/story.html
There were no celebrations in the streets of Nanaimo on Thursday as B.C. Ferries celebrated its 50th anniversary serving the city.
You would think that in a community so dependent on the ferry system to meet its daily transportation needs such a milestone would have been recognized with speeches from company officials and other dignitaries in a big event in the downtown core.
But with the corporation is in deep financial trouble and looking to deal with its crisis mainly on the backs of its customers, there's little goodwill left among many in the city for the beleaguered corporation.
Traffic on all B.C. Ferries' routes has seen a steady decline for some time and critics claim that the corporation's decision to raise its fares as the economy worsened for many is a major reason why the company is in financial trouble.
It now costs more than $100 for a family of four and their vehicle to travel one-way between Nanaimo and Vancouver, much more than many are willing to pay as the global economy continues to struggle along.
This has seen a significant drop in tourists to the Island and local use of the ferries as well.
To make matters worse, the corporation announced that it intends to add a 5% fuel surcharge on all the major routes between the Island and the Lower Mainland beginning on Dec. 12.
Joe Stanhope, chairman of the Regional District of Nanaimo, told me this week that he can remember that the cost of a car on the ferry between Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay was $5, plus $1.80 per person, when the government took over the ferry run from Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1961.
The prices stayed about the same for many years after, he said.
Of course, inflation and the price of living have increased dramatically over the past 50 years so we should expect that the costs of taking the ferry will rise as well.
But the corporation has raised its prices beyond the ability, and the will, of many of its customers to pay.
Facing a shortfall that is projected to be more than $20 million during the current fiscal year, the province's ferry commissioner Gord Macatee is conducting a review of B.C. Ferries' operations and he is expected to table a report for the government by the end of January.
Because the government is the main shareholder in B.C. Ferries, it will have the opportunity after the report is tabled to come up with solutions to the corporation's woes and even legislate them into law if it seems appropriate.
But the leaders of all the regional districts on Vancouver Island, as well as a number from the Lower Mainland, intend to keep the feet of the government and the corporation close to the fire on the issue.
The leaders, who claim to represent approximately 70% of the province's population, want the entire corporation restructured and have some of their members sit on its board of directors.
They also want the ferry system treated as part of the province's highway system, paid for by all B.C. residents as the highways are, and not just by the users of the ferry system.
Colin Palmer, chairman of the Powell River Regional District, said after a meeting on the issue of regional leaders in Nanaimo in September that while the leaders are not advocating reverting B.C. Ferries back to a Crown corporation, the current organization is "deeply flawed" and its growing problems are having a "devastating" effect on local economies.
I wonder if Macatee is feeling the pressure as he writes his report.
" Contact reporter Robert Barron at RBarron@nanaimodailynews.com or by phone at 250-729-4234
___________________
Try Our >
PORT DYNAMICS
PORT DYNAMICS-2