BC Ferries has announced that they will be implementing the full 4.1% fare increase approved last year by the Ferry Commissioner, with effect from April 1.

Passenger fares for the round trip between Gabriola and Nanaimo increase by 40 cents to $10.30; vehicle rates increase 95 cents to $24.50.  Rates for experience card holders are expected to increase by similar amounts.

As an extra sting in the tail, it will now cost you a minimum of $60 to top up your passenger Experience Card (up $5 from $55) and $105 (up from $95) to top up a vehicle card. Ouch!

The following news release has been published today by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure:

The Coastal Ferries Consultation and Engagement summary report was released today, summarizing the input received during an eight‐week public consultation process conducted in fall 2012.
The consultation and engagement provided information to British Columbians on the challenges facing the coastal ferry system. The process sought public input on the principles to guide service adjustment decisions and strategies to further the Province’s long‐term vision for the ferry system.
Over the eight weeks, senior ministry staff hosted 40 public consultation meetings in 30 communities, along with one webinar. More than 2,000 people attended the public meetings and almost 2,000 feedback forms and written submissions were received. The strong public response clearly reflects how much people value the coastal ferry service. Given the volume and detail of comments received during the consultation, government will take the time necessary to thoroughly review the feedback and develop a plan for service adjustments to achieve $26 million in savings to 2016.
The government initiated the consultation and engagement following the review of the Coastal Ferry Act by the independent BC ferry commissioner. The commissioner raised the need for a long‐term vision and indicated that all parties – BC Ferries, ferry users and the Province ‐ need to contribute to ensure the sustainability of the system.
In response to the commissioner’s review, the government committed an additional $79.5 million to 2016 to reduce pressure on fares, bringing B.C. taxpayer funding to more than $180 million this year.
There will be further consultations before any specific service reductions are implemented.

The summary report on the consultation can be downloaded here

The Ferry Advisory Committee welcomes your feedback on the report.  Give us your reactions by leaving a comment on our Public Consultation page or by email to Gabriola.fac@gmail.com .  The FAC will consider the report, and any comments received, at its next meeting on April 3. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

This time last year, BC Ferries was reporting a 5% reduction (April-Jan) in vehicle and passenger traffic on Route 19 to Gabriola. Now we have January 2013 traffic data, it seems like the pattern of decline over the past five years may be about to turn.

January 2013 saw vehicle traffic up 6% compared to January 2012 and passenger traffic up by 3%. That’s virtually back to January 2011 levels. Over the current fiscal year (April-Jan) vehicle and passenger numbers have stabilised at last year’s levels – good news for ferry users, but will it be good enough to prevent the new government from cutting services later this year?

The dust has long since settled on the Provincial consultation on ferry services – and the consultants expect to release their report on the messages from ferry users later this month. But with an election looming, it’s unlikely we’ll get any signals from the present government. Ferry services are likely to be a hot election issue among Gulf Islanders and although the news from BC Ferries may be brighter, there’s still a long way to go.

Turn to our Recent Performance page for the latest traffic reports on Route 19.

There was a widely held view that the government’s consultation process presented to our community at the Public Open House on November 13 failed to address fundamental concerns about the governance, management and delivery of ferry services to Gabriola Island. Many attending the consultation found the approach and the process to be fundamentally flawed, both in its failure to address specific short term options for change and the lack of any opportunity to examine the underlying service delivery model.

As a result of that failure the Ferry Advisory Committee, in partnership with Sustainable Gabriola, arranged a further community consultation on December 10 to gain a clearer understanding of the broader issues around the delivery of ferry services to Gabriola. This event was attended by island residents and local elected representatives including our Island Trustees, RDN Director, a Nanaimo City Councillor, our MLA and a representative from MOTI. It is important to note that the FAC as it is currently set up could not have undertaken this consultation on its own.  We are deeply thankful to Sustainable Gabriola for their collaborative support.

Our submission to government reflects the views expressed at both the Provincial Open House event and the Community Consultation. It sets out a series of recommendations which have been adopted by The Ferry Advisory Committee in its role as community liaison on local ferry issues.

We cannot emphasise too strongly how disappointed the community feels with the Provincial Government’s failure to acknowledge the inequity of treatment to coastal communities and the economic and financial hardship that has resulted. Even this week, the Minister’s press statement Promise made, Promise delivered : Transportation Sector failed to make any reference to the Ministry’s role as custodian of coastal ferry services, claiming a focus on “keeping the economy strong … while making life more affordable for British Columbians”. Neither statement could be further from the truth when it comes to our ferry-dependent coastal communities.

The Ferry Advisory Committee endorses the recommendations contained in this joint submission with Sustainable Gabriola. We know that not everyone will support every recommendation. However, the role of the FAC is to communicate the views of the wider community and as such, we believe that the recommendations are consistent with that objective. We commend the need for a fundamental review of the service delivery model and emphasise the willingness of the FAC to actively participate in any such review. In the short term, we strongly urge the government to conduct a further detailed consultation with our community before any service adjustments to our local ferry services are determined.

The full report and FAC/SG Ferry Submission  including recommendations for shaping the future of our ferry services is available for download.

Ten years ago this week, the BC government unveiled a brand new, not-quite-arms-length coastal ferry system. It promised jobs, economic development, modest fare increases and better service – all with no new public debt.

That anniversary coincides with this week’s wrap-up of government’s whirlwind ferry consultation tour. The community tour was meant to talk about ways to save money. But residents and business people ended up delivering a verdict on the ferry experiment: the model has failed to achieve its goals.

“While we’re pleased the government is finally talking to the communities the model is supposed to serve, we’re disturbed by the large gap between government’s view of the system and ferry users’ reality,” says Tony Law, of the Hornby-Denman Ferry Advisory Committee.

Government representatives wanted to talk about $26 million in service cuts. But an overwhelming majority of attendees told government there are different, bigger problems that have to be fixed first. The main one is fares.

“People can’t afford the crippling fares. Businesses, especially those serving tourists, are shrinking or closing as visitor traffic evaporates,” says Brian Hollingshead of the Southern Gulf Islands FAC. “Another 12% in hikes is coming over the next three years. And the current ferry model will likely produce even higher fares after that – even with service cuts. The user-pay ideology desperately needs fixing.”

Fares are a problem because government has chosen to make ferry users bear all the costs of fuel price hikes, and decades worth of government neglect of old, inadequate ships and terminals. The only exception is some extra support for the northern routes.

Government’s embrace of user pay has also led to lost jobs, collapsing tourism and businesses, and chronic ferry traffic losses. New public debt has been avoided, but only by off-loading debt onto BC Ferries and through the fares, to its users. But the users can’t afford it.

The failures can be fixed. The Ferry Advisory Committee Chairs identify these actions for government as essential elements for recovery:

• Fare rollback: Fund a 25% rollback on non-major routes to bring fares closer to inflation increases of the past decade, and begin to repair the damage from heavy fare increases in that period.
• Capital plan: Provide funds to allow timely decisions on necessary capital spending. This includes replacements for 54- and 48-year-old ships in the fleet.
• New funding mechanism: Develop a formula to balance provincial and user contributions and keep fare increases within the rate of inflation. Currently, fares fill the shortfall between BC Ferries’ revenue needs and what the Province chooses to contribute. This has failed to produce a workable result.
• New service model: Once a workable funding mechanism is in place, conduct community-by-community consultations to shape a new service model, using criteria appropriate for each route.

In addition to increasingly urgent messages from coastal residents and businesses, the government has received well-considered advice from the Office of the Auditor General, the Comptroller General and the BC Ferry Commission. Some of their recommendations not yet implemented would help repair the model and fulfill some of the goals for the system.

The health of all coastal communities and their lifeline transportation depends on it.

The BC government is accepting submissions to its ferry consultation until December 21.

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BACKGROUND

9 December 2002 news release:

New ferries model means better service, more jobs, stable rates

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/nrm_news_releases/2002TRAN0054-001076.htm

To submit views to the BC government’s ferry consultation:

http://www.coastalferriesengagement.ca./contact.html

To see this release and other FACC information:

http://www.facchairs.wordpress.com

Rising ferry fares and a flawed provincial government approach to consultation with coastal communities has caused local community groups to take action to ensure Gabriolans have a chance to describe their hopes for the ferry system.

Ferry Advisory Committee chair John Hodgkins and Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley, a FAC and Sustainable Gabriola member, announced on November 13^th, that their groups would unite forces to create a real opportunity for Gabriolans to have their voices heard.  A 3-hour planning session will be held on December 8^th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Community Hall.  It will feature anything you want to discuss about our ferry service with no leading questions and no out of bounds topics

Dubbed by Dunsmoor-Farley as a “design your own ferry system” workshop, Gabriolans will have an opportunity to identify what the objectives of the small island ferry services should be and the values and principles that should underpin the service. Participants will be encouraged to discuss governance and accountability, alternative service delivery models, and improvements to the existing model.

Hodgkins noted: “The results of the discussions will form the basis of the FAC submission to the provincial government.  All ideas and perspectives to create a positive vision of our ferry service are welcomed”.

MLA Doug Routley will be there, along with reps from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and BC Ferries who will be available as resource persons. We can’t do it without you. Please mark it in your calendar. Bring a friend. It will be fun, painless, and you’ll feel better after getting your two-cents worth out there.

Contact: Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley, 3230 South Road, Gabriola VOR 1X7  : telephone 250 -247-9779

BC Ferries announced today that the company will proceed with its plans to design, build and operate a cable ferry between Buckley Bay on Vancouver Island and Denman Island. The new 50-car vessel is expected to be in service by the fall of 2014.

After four years of studying the feasibility of a cable ferry, BC Ferries is satisfied that this type of operation meets the company’s strict criteria for the delivery of a safe and reliable operation for the Buckley Bay – Denman Island service in a more cost effective manner.
Extensive design work and analysis conducted to-date includes: validation of environmental conditions; hydrodynamic testing of the vessel; cable load analysis and dynamic interaction of the ferry and berths; and the determination of operational criteria, cable specification and safety factors.

“At BC Ferries we are constantly looking to identify ways to keep operating and capital costs as low as possible while maintaining our high standard of safety and customer service, and a cable ferry provides substantial cost savings of $19 million over the life of these assets calculated on a discounted net present value basis,” said Mike Corrigan, BC Ferries’ President and CEO. “These significant cost savings will help reduce pressure on future fare increases.”

The necessary regulatory approvals for the cable ferry project have been obtained including approval from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Transport Canada approval under the Navigable Waters
Protection Act. BC Ferries is moving into the detailed design phase for the cable ferry and for the terminal infrastructure. The company expects to conclude a tender process for the construction of the vessel and terminal works by the summer of 2013.

The company has an obligation to ensure that the service it provides under the Coastal  Ferry Services Contract is safe, reliable and efficient. To this end, BC Ferries issued a request for proposal (RFP) to determine if another operator, under contract to BC Ferries, could provide the cable ferry service to a similar level of safety and quality at a lower cost.

BC Ferries has now concluded the RFP process and has determined that it can operate the route in a more cost-effective manner than an alternative service provider. Accordingly, BC Ferries will operate the cable ferry between Buckley Bay and Denman Island.

A public information session to update the community on the cable ferry project will be held on Thursday, November 29 from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Denman Island Seniors Hall on
Denman Island.