Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 1, 2011 7:40:56 GMT -8
Daily News story on today's 50th Anniversary of BCFerries takeover of Black Ball.
from here: (includes some photos)
www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=366a889b-ab9d-4aed-a55c-ceacf76feeba
B.C. Ferries marks five decades in Nanaimo amid troubling financial times
Robert Barron
Daily News
Thursday, December 01, 2011
While B.C. Ferries celebrated its 50th anniversary of operations in the province last year, today marks five decades of government-operated ferry services in Nanaimo.
On Dec. 1, 1961, the provincial government paid $6.69 million to Puget Sound Navigation Company for its privately run Horseshoe-Bay-to-Departure-Bay ferry service, as well as its operations on the Sunshine Coast, which began the long five decades of government-run services in Nanaimo that now also includes the Duke-Point-to-Tsawwassen and Gabriola Island ferry runs.
However, the 50th anniversary of B.C. Ferries' operations in Nanaimo comes at a troubled time for the corporation.
B.C. Ferries announced this fall that the corporation intends to eliminated as many as 400 sailings per year from major routes as a cost-cutting measure in an effort to slash a shortfall that is projected to be more than $20 million during the current fiscal year.
With passenger numbers for B.C. Ferries slipping to the lowest level in two decades and vehicle counts at their lowest level in 11 years, president David Hahn recently announced that he'll be retiring early at the end of this month to support the company's new money-saving strategies.
As a result of the corporation's troubles and its strategies in dealing with them, the leaders of all regional districts on Vancouver Island, as well as a number from the Lower Mainland, are looking for sweeping changes to the way the corporation is run to keep it viable and effective for the many communities that rely on ferry services.
The province's ferry commissioner, Gord Macatee, is currently conducting a review of B.C. Ferries operations and is expected to table a report for the government by the end of January.
However, B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said the main issues the system faces have to do with the ongoing downturn of the economy.
"We have to be fiscally prudent in these challenging times until there is a turnaround in the economy," Marshall said.
"We have a great product and great employees and we're confident we'll have another successful 50 years of serving our customers in Nanaimo and across the province."
The provincial ferry system, which later became B.C. Ferries, began with just two ships in the late 1950s operating between Victoria and Vancouver, employing about 200 people.
Today, the service has grown to one of the largest ferry services in the world, with 36 vessels and 47 terminals that employ more than 3,000 people, with about 600 of those residing in Nanaimo.
The company now transports more than 21 million people on 182,000 sailings annually.
Nanaimo's three ferry terminals are in Departure Bay, which was originally built before 1961 but has had almost $50 million in renovations in recent years, the $100-million Duke Point terminal that opened in 1997 and the downtown Nanaimo terminal that services passengers travelling to and from Gabriola Island.
Overall, approximately five million passengers and two million vehicles used the two ferry runs between Nanaimo and the Mainland in 2009, according the latest available records.
But traffic on the routes has seen a steady decline for some time, with many people claiming that the corporation's decision to raise its fares as the economy worsened for many of its users is a major reason why B.C. Ferries is in financial trouble.
The fact that it now costs more than $100 for a family of four and their vehicle to travel one-way between Nanaimo and Vancouver has caused many cash-strapped travellers and tourists to look elsewhere for recreational travel or cancel it completely.
The latest troubles with the corporation are not the first.
The government paid almost $500 million on the late 1990s for three PacificCat ferries to help serve the Departure Bay and Duke Point runs more efficiently, but were soon taken out of service due to ongoing mechanical and other problems and sold for scrap.
Joe Stanhope, chairman of the Regional District of Nanaimo, said the 12 regional heads have not made any headway in trying to get answers from the government and corporation on fixing the corporation's current financial woes.
In fact, he said the new 5% fuel surcharge that was recently announced on major routes by B.C. Ferries is just making the situation worse.
"The corporation is not considering its users and is, in fact, continuing to price itself out of the marketplace," Stanhope said Wednesday.
"Fewer people are taking the ferries these days so something has to change. But I'm afraid it has become a political issue and we may not see any moves to resolve it until the next provincial election."
------------------
A HISTORY OF OUR FERRY SERVICE
Mid-1800s: Hudson's Bay Company operates regular passenger and freight service across the Strait of Georgia.
1901: Canadian Pacific Railway takes over ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Victoria until the 1960s.
1950s: The Black Ball Line offers service between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay. (PHOTO)
1951: Departure Bay ferry terminal built.
1958: On July 18, Premier W.A.C. Bennett announces provinciallymandated B.C. Ferry Authority.
1960: June 15, the M.V. 'Tsawwassen' and the M.V. 'Sidney' begin regular service.
1961: Dec. 1 the B.C. government paid $6,690,000 to Puget Sound Navigation Company, parent firm of Black Ball Ferries Ltd. for its Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo and Sunshine Coast services (which operated as Black Ball Line).
1962: The 'Chinook' went hard aground off Snake Island, east of Nanaimo. Sixty-eight passengers were taken off by boats.
1970s: Ferries undergo a "stretch and lift" process to add a second deck to some vessels.
1978: On March 18, B.C. Ferries hit a milestone of 1 million passengers
1992: An Alberta family plunged into Departure Bay as the 'Queen of New Westminster' pulled away while they were loading.
1997: Duke Point ferry terminal built.
1998: 'PacifiCat Explorer' built, the first in a line of controversial fast ferries.
1999: 'PacifiCat Discovery' built.
2000: 'PacifiCat Voyager' built. The vessel was christened but by the time it was completed the fast ferries program was sunk. The program cost $460 million.
2003: On March 24, Premier Gordon Campbell auctions the fast-ferry fleet for $19.4 million
2006: The 'Queen of the North' sinks off Prince Rupert on March 22.
2008: Three new Super-C Class ferries are introduced.
2011: On May 20, a distraught man drove his truck off the Swartz Bay ferry terminal dock. Controversial president and CEO of B.C. Ferries, David Hahn, announced his retirement on Sept. 27.
© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2011
Robert Barron
Daily News
Thursday, December 01, 2011
While B.C. Ferries celebrated its 50th anniversary of operations in the province last year, today marks five decades of government-operated ferry services in Nanaimo.
On Dec. 1, 1961, the provincial government paid $6.69 million to Puget Sound Navigation Company for its privately run Horseshoe-Bay-to-Departure-Bay ferry service, as well as its operations on the Sunshine Coast, which began the long five decades of government-run services in Nanaimo that now also includes the Duke-Point-to-Tsawwassen and Gabriola Island ferry runs.
However, the 50th anniversary of B.C. Ferries' operations in Nanaimo comes at a troubled time for the corporation.
B.C. Ferries announced this fall that the corporation intends to eliminated as many as 400 sailings per year from major routes as a cost-cutting measure in an effort to slash a shortfall that is projected to be more than $20 million during the current fiscal year.
With passenger numbers for B.C. Ferries slipping to the lowest level in two decades and vehicle counts at their lowest level in 11 years, president David Hahn recently announced that he'll be retiring early at the end of this month to support the company's new money-saving strategies.
As a result of the corporation's troubles and its strategies in dealing with them, the leaders of all regional districts on Vancouver Island, as well as a number from the Lower Mainland, are looking for sweeping changes to the way the corporation is run to keep it viable and effective for the many communities that rely on ferry services.
The province's ferry commissioner, Gord Macatee, is currently conducting a review of B.C. Ferries operations and is expected to table a report for the government by the end of January.
However, B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said the main issues the system faces have to do with the ongoing downturn of the economy.
"We have to be fiscally prudent in these challenging times until there is a turnaround in the economy," Marshall said.
"We have a great product and great employees and we're confident we'll have another successful 50 years of serving our customers in Nanaimo and across the province."
The provincial ferry system, which later became B.C. Ferries, began with just two ships in the late 1950s operating between Victoria and Vancouver, employing about 200 people.
Today, the service has grown to one of the largest ferry services in the world, with 36 vessels and 47 terminals that employ more than 3,000 people, with about 600 of those residing in Nanaimo.
The company now transports more than 21 million people on 182,000 sailings annually.
Nanaimo's three ferry terminals are in Departure Bay, which was originally built before 1961 but has had almost $50 million in renovations in recent years, the $100-million Duke Point terminal that opened in 1997 and the downtown Nanaimo terminal that services passengers travelling to and from Gabriola Island.
Overall, approximately five million passengers and two million vehicles used the two ferry runs between Nanaimo and the Mainland in 2009, according the latest available records.
But traffic on the routes has seen a steady decline for some time, with many people claiming that the corporation's decision to raise its fares as the economy worsened for many of its users is a major reason why B.C. Ferries is in financial trouble.
The fact that it now costs more than $100 for a family of four and their vehicle to travel one-way between Nanaimo and Vancouver has caused many cash-strapped travellers and tourists to look elsewhere for recreational travel or cancel it completely.
The latest troubles with the corporation are not the first.
The government paid almost $500 million on the late 1990s for three PacificCat ferries to help serve the Departure Bay and Duke Point runs more efficiently, but were soon taken out of service due to ongoing mechanical and other problems and sold for scrap.
Joe Stanhope, chairman of the Regional District of Nanaimo, said the 12 regional heads have not made any headway in trying to get answers from the government and corporation on fixing the corporation's current financial woes.
In fact, he said the new 5% fuel surcharge that was recently announced on major routes by B.C. Ferries is just making the situation worse.
"The corporation is not considering its users and is, in fact, continuing to price itself out of the marketplace," Stanhope said Wednesday.
"Fewer people are taking the ferries these days so something has to change. But I'm afraid it has become a political issue and we may not see any moves to resolve it until the next provincial election."
------------------
A HISTORY OF OUR FERRY SERVICE
Mid-1800s: Hudson's Bay Company operates regular passenger and freight service across the Strait of Georgia.
1901: Canadian Pacific Railway takes over ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Victoria until the 1960s.
1950s: The Black Ball Line offers service between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay. (PHOTO)
1951: Departure Bay ferry terminal built.
1958: On July 18, Premier W.A.C. Bennett announces provinciallymandated B.C. Ferry Authority.
1960: June 15, the M.V. 'Tsawwassen' and the M.V. 'Sidney' begin regular service.
1961: Dec. 1 the B.C. government paid $6,690,000 to Puget Sound Navigation Company, parent firm of Black Ball Ferries Ltd. for its Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo and Sunshine Coast services (which operated as Black Ball Line).
1962: The 'Chinook' went hard aground off Snake Island, east of Nanaimo. Sixty-eight passengers were taken off by boats.
1970s: Ferries undergo a "stretch and lift" process to add a second deck to some vessels.
1978: On March 18, B.C. Ferries hit a milestone of 1 million passengers
1992: An Alberta family plunged into Departure Bay as the 'Queen of New Westminster' pulled away while they were loading.
1997: Duke Point ferry terminal built.
1998: 'PacifiCat Explorer' built, the first in a line of controversial fast ferries.
1999: 'PacifiCat Discovery' built.
2000: 'PacifiCat Voyager' built. The vessel was christened but by the time it was completed the fast ferries program was sunk. The program cost $460 million.
2003: On March 24, Premier Gordon Campbell auctions the fast-ferry fleet for $19.4 million
2006: The 'Queen of the North' sinks off Prince Rupert on March 22.
2008: Three new Super-C Class ferries are introduced.
2011: On May 20, a distraught man drove his truck off the Swartz Bay ferry terminal dock. Controversial president and CEO of B.C. Ferries, David Hahn, announced his retirement on Sept. 27.
© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2011
from here: (includes some photos)
www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=366a889b-ab9d-4aed-a55c-ceacf76feeba