Post by ferryfast admin on Mar 21, 2012 11:42:06 GMT -5
Rising ferry fares rile up customers
RDN chairman says rates have stretched
beyond acceptable levels and wants new
funding sources
By Darrell Bellaart, Daily News March 21, 2012
www.canada.com/Rising+ferry+fares+rile+customers/6334767/story.html
Ferry fares have stretched beyond acceptable levels and it's time for new funding sources to help bring them within reason, says Regional District of Nanaimo board chairman Joe Stanhope.
B.C. Ferries is increasing fares 4.15% on all routes April 1, adding $2 to a one-way crossing between Nanaimo and Vancouver for a car and driver.
It is the most recent in a series of increases since the provincial government ordered B.C. Ferries to operate like a private company.
Some users are angry at the news. Stanhope wants to find a new way to pay for an important part of the B.C. transportation system, and said the idea has the support of a majority of B.C. municipal leaders.
The fare was approved a year ago but takes affect amid a rising chorus of concern that fares are rising faster than the rate of inflation.
"We're going to feel the pinch big time, in every aspect of life on Vancouver Island," said Stanhope. "It's just another straw on the camel's back."
Travellers at Departure Bay terminal are annoyed at the news.
"I think it's stupid," said K.C. Parent, watching for his fiancée to arrive from Vancouver.
"It sucks," said Barb Wilson, of Port Alberni. "It's part of the highway system."
Mainland resident Liz Jack said fares are "way too expensive," and because of that she now leaves her vehicle behind.
In the nine-year period since government restructured B.C. Ferries, fares rose 47% on major routes, 78% in the north and 80% on minor routes, during a period when inflation rose 15%. In January, and B.C. Ferries Commissioner Gord Macatee said users tell him a "tipping point" in fares has been reached.
"This is a further increase over the tipping point, and I don't think it's appropriate," Stanhope said.
Rather than just complain, the RDN chairman proposes a solution: A provincial subsidy funded through a small fee levied on every taxable property in B.C.
He said Union of B.C. Municipalities members support him.
"They all agree, the majority, that is, that it's part of the highway system," Stanhope said.
DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235
RDN chairman says rates have stretched
beyond acceptable levels and wants new
funding sources
By Darrell Bellaart, Daily News March 21, 2012
www.canada.com/Rising+ferry+fares+rile+customers/6334767/story.html
Ferry fares have stretched beyond acceptable levels and it's time for new funding sources to help bring them within reason, says Regional District of Nanaimo board chairman Joe Stanhope.
B.C. Ferries is increasing fares 4.15% on all routes April 1, adding $2 to a one-way crossing between Nanaimo and Vancouver for a car and driver.
It is the most recent in a series of increases since the provincial government ordered B.C. Ferries to operate like a private company.
Some users are angry at the news. Stanhope wants to find a new way to pay for an important part of the B.C. transportation system, and said the idea has the support of a majority of B.C. municipal leaders.
The fare was approved a year ago but takes affect amid a rising chorus of concern that fares are rising faster than the rate of inflation.
"We're going to feel the pinch big time, in every aspect of life on Vancouver Island," said Stanhope. "It's just another straw on the camel's back."
Travellers at Departure Bay terminal are annoyed at the news.
"I think it's stupid," said K.C. Parent, watching for his fiancée to arrive from Vancouver.
"It sucks," said Barb Wilson, of Port Alberni. "It's part of the highway system."
Mainland resident Liz Jack said fares are "way too expensive," and because of that she now leaves her vehicle behind.
In the nine-year period since government restructured B.C. Ferries, fares rose 47% on major routes, 78% in the north and 80% on minor routes, during a period when inflation rose 15%. In January, and B.C. Ferries Commissioner Gord Macatee said users tell him a "tipping point" in fares has been reached.
"This is a further increase over the tipping point, and I don't think it's appropriate," Stanhope said.
Rather than just complain, the RDN chairman proposes a solution: A provincial subsidy funded through a small fee levied on every taxable property in B.C.
He said Union of B.C. Municipalities members support him.
"They all agree, the majority, that is, that it's part of the highway system," Stanhope said.
DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235