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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 16, 2007 9:56:26 GMT -8
Here's a news story re Alaska Ferries: =================== www.juneauempire.com/stories/091407/loc_20070914003.shtmlWeb posted September 14, 2007 Southeast Conference to host marine highway talks AMANDA FEHD JUNEAU EMPIRE The future of the Alaska Marine Highway System will be a hot issue at next week's Southeast Conference annual meeting in Skagway, conference organizers said Thursday. The conference, which has 150 member groups, will meet from Monday to Thursday. The Southeast Conference is an economic development organization that includes representation from local governments, businesses and individuals throughout Southeast Alaska. The organization formed in 1958 to advocate for creating the Alaska Marine Highway System. The system's fleet is aging and mechanical issues are causing more and more disruptions in service. "Without some plan for the future, there's no way for anyone to know whether there will be a ferry system five and 10 years out," said Bob Doll, a Juneau Assembly member and the former head of the ferry system. Replacing the ferries, some more than 40 years old, will cost the state around $100 million. In addition, the state must allocate at least $100 million each year to operate the ferries, according to Doll. The ferries earn back at least half of that each year. "One of the difficulties that the ferry system has at the moment is there is no plan for new construction for replacing the ferries, and the ferries are getting old," Doll said, adding there is always some federal money available for fleet replacement. Shelly Wright, executive director of the Southeast Conference, agreed that transportation would be the biggest issue at this year's conference. "Funding for the Alaska Marine Highway is being questioned," she said. "The whole system itself needs a huge, enormous overhaul. They've cut back on the communities that have other transportation. We need to go back to square one and look at what we need to do to make it a better system." Other big topics at the conference will be mining, timber, energy and fishing. Also, a conference committee may decide whether to create a regional solid waste authority. ======================
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Post by Scott on Sept 27, 2007 22:59:01 GMT -8
Yesterday I got a free ferry guide and DVD from Alaska State Ferries in the mail. Checked it out tonight - quite nice. A few short videos of the ferries and scenery - probably about a total of 30 minutes. Now I want to go! I ordered it from their website about a month ago - it's probably still available.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 12, 2007 18:04:01 GMT -8
News article re the future of Alaska Ferries......(every system seems to have the same issues) ================= www.juneauempire.com/stories/101107/sta_20071011013.shtmlWeb posted October 11, 2007 Rough waters ahead for the ferry system Marine highway must raise fares or cut costs to comply with advisory board AMANDA FEHD JUNEAU EMPIRE Alaska's ferry system will have to cut costs or raise fares to meet a new goal of increased service, which its advisory board approved Wednesday. The Marine Transportation Advisory Board voted to increase trips between towns in fiscal year 2009, but keep the state subsidy flat, at about $85 million. Leo von Scheben, the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, told the Marine Transportation Advisory Board that the ferry service faces many challenges in the years ahead as state oil revenue declines, federal dollars dry up and prices for construction and materials skyrocket, placing more stress on the state general fund. Fuel and labor costs for the ferries also have been on the rise. "The governor doesn't want us to live beyond our means," von Scheben said. The board, whose members are appointed by the governor, makes recommendations to the Transportation Department. The system's operating budget stands at around $135 million a year. Revenues from fares bring in around $50 million, and about $85 million is needed in subsidies from the state. The board hopes to increase trips between communities, which would raise operating costs to around $150 million, but it told the ferry system to find a way to meet that goal by cutting costs or increasing fares. Board member JC Conley, of Ketchikan, suggested the plan. "We are recommending that we provide more service and the additional service be paid for by the people using the system," Conley said. He hoped the system could save money by increasing efficiency or by cutting staff overtime. Conley said he'd "scream" if the ferry system just raised rates across the board. "If they do that, that's just bunk," he said. The system is in contract negotiations with its labor unions. It also sees challenges in long-term capital costs. The ferry fleet is aging, with many ships more than 40 years old. The cost of replacing the boats range from $70 million for smaller ships to $250 million for a ship such as the Colombia. Shelly Wright, executive director of Southeast Conference, pushed Scheben for solutions to the ferry's problems. The Southeast Conference is an organization whose members are business and government representatives aiming to promote development within the region. "We've all heard your message. We've heard it over and over and over again. My frustration is we don't hear anything on what are we going to do about it? How do we fix it? What are the new ideas?" Wright said. "There's got to be a way for Southeast Alaska to maintain their highway, and their business and their service and their viability with what we have, and we need ideas," Wright said. Fundamental changes have occurred in Southeast Alaska's economics since the ferry system was established in the 1960s, said Jeff Ottesen, the Transportation Department's director for program development. Those changes include diminishing revenue for the ferries on freight services, as private air cargo and shipping services have grown in the region. Also, the growth of the cruise industry has changed how many tourists use the ferries. "These factors have changed the role of the ferry system because you have all these competing services for that traffic," Ottesen said. ===============
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Post by hergfest on Oct 12, 2007 23:24:26 GMT -8
They misspelled Columbia...lol
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Post by Scott on Oct 16, 2007 22:17:44 GMT -8
Interesting. In my opinion, Alaska State Ferries fares are prohibitively expensive already.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Oct 16, 2007 22:47:06 GMT -8
Interesting. In my opinion, Alaska State Ferries fares are prohibitively expensive already. I just looked up the fare differences, and this is what I found. BCF Port Hardy to Prince Rupert 1 adult $125 + $16.20 fuel surcharge = $141.20 1 car <20' $300 + $34.10 fuel surcharge = $334.10 AMHS Bellingham to Prince Rupert 1 adult $215 1 car <15' $447 and for those who don't drive a honda civic (car is longer than 15'), you get to pay $530 for the car up to 19'. Not sure exactly how much further Bellingham is than Port Hardy, but that seems like an awful lot. I know that when we took our travel trailer + truck on the NorAd this summer it would have cost $1400 without the employee pass. Just a little prohibitively expensive for average joe. And to think that we had the smallest "rig" on board.
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Post by SS Shasta on Oct 17, 2007 4:50:14 GMT -8
AMHS does not have a route from Bellingham to Prince Rupert; the first stop is further north at Ketchikan. The adult fare is currently $239 from Bellingham to Ketchikan. There is a $72 discount each way on a round trip fare.
Cabins are a bit spendy, however. A two berth is $227 each way. These are fares for the winter schedule (1 Nov thru 31 March) Summer fares for 08 have not yet been set.
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Post by hergfest on Oct 17, 2007 15:07:14 GMT -8
You can say they are expensive, but they sell out in the summer. So someone doesn't think it is.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Oct 17, 2007 16:01:02 GMT -8
OK, I was looking at the summer schedule where it had a cross-chart thingie that matched bellingham to PR, so I assumed it stopped there on the way up.
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 17, 2007 16:55:04 GMT -8
The AMHS route from Bellingham to Ketchikan would be more than twice the distance as that from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. The distance from Bellingham to Skagway would be almost three times as long. Summer fares on the AMHS are not that much different than those on BCFS's northern routes when compared on the basis of route length.
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Post by BreannaF on Nov 6, 2007 2:52:13 GMT -8
Two thoughts/questions on the AMHS:
1) In regards to the trip down to Bellingham, do we know just how much that route gets used as compared to in the past? The tourist and cruise business seems to have taken away one of the ferry route's "purposes" as a tourist cruise. Do the ferries leave full? In the Winter or just in the Summer?
I suppose at one time it was likely more of a vital link to the outside than it once was, due to better air transportation now. But there must still be some justification for this route. Is there?
(Although, I suppose also that the same argument could be made for a number of their routes.)
2) Would it be appropriate to ask here why the Alaskan government distributed a chunk of it's oil royalties currently on an annual basis, rather than investing in infrastructure for the future? If you're not going to invest in a "bridge to nowhere", then do you still need to invest in a "ferry to nowhere"?
I'm going to presume that for the citizens of Alaska and those who want to visit them, the ferries really are useful. Or am I presuming wrong? Or, are ferries as a mode of transport dying as the steamships did?
Just checking.......
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Nov 6, 2007 7:50:02 GMT -8
Tourism is a major portion of those who travel AMHS, as I am sure it is with both BC Ferries and WSF. Winter even gets its fair share of tourists. Though understandably, not nearly as many. That is why most of the ferries have their annual maintenance period during the winter months. To find out how the ferries do year round, check out the Annual reports (which are posted on the AMHS website. Here is a link; www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/Sailing/Reports/index.htmlIn response to the better air travel comment, this is true, there is much better air travel options these days (though even Alaska Air, Southeast Alaska's ONLY major air carrier, is having trouble staying in the Black). BUT, two weeks ago my flight from Seattle to Juneau had to skip Ketchikan due to 60+MPH winds on the runway, and air travel into Juneau was canceled last night, due to our first snow of the season. As soon as everyone who had planned on flying from Haines found this bit of information out, they flocked to the ferry terminal to catch the Malispina to Juneau. If you took a good look at Southeast Alaska, you would notice how difficult (I want to say impossible, but I won't) it is to connect even just the major towns of Southeast (Ketchikan, Petersberg, Wrangell, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway), not to mention the small communities, that rely on ferry service. I know there are many out there who would disagree with me, but I feel that the ferries are still a valuable and vital link, both within Alaska and out of Alaska, and are not "Ferries to Nowhere."
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 6, 2007 8:10:55 GMT -8
One of my goals for the next 5 years is to take the AMHS from Bellingham north. We often passed one going north or south on the Inside Passage.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 6, 2007 19:27:06 GMT -8
.....thanks for posting that most-excellent site, Mr. Leconte.
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Post by BreannaF on Nov 7, 2007 2:50:57 GMT -8
Tourism is a major portion of those who travel AMHS, as I am sure it is with both BC Ferries and WSF. Winter even gets its fair share of tourists. Though understandably, not nearly as many. That is why most of the ferries have their annual maintenance period during the winter months. To find out how the ferries do year round, check out the Annual reports (which are posted on the AMHS website. Here is a link; www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/Sailing/Reports/index.htmlIn response to the better air travel comment, this is true, there is much better air travel options these days (though even Alaska Air, Southeast Alaska's ONLY major air carrier, is having trouble staying in the Black). BUT, two weeks ago my flight from Seattle to Juneau had to skip Ketchikan due to 60+MPH winds on the runway, and air travel into Juneau was canceled last night, due to our first snow of the season. As soon as everyone who had planned on flying from Haines found this bit of information out, they flocked to the ferry terminal to catch the Malispina to Juneau. If you took a good look at Southeast Alaska, you would notice how difficult (I want to say impossible, but I won't) it is to connect even just the major towns of Southeast (Ketchikan, Petersberg, Wrangell, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway), not to mention the small communities, that rely on ferry service. I know there are many out there who would disagree with me, but I feel that the ferries are still a valuable and vital link, both within Alaska and out of Alaska, and are not "Ferries to Nowhere." Aah, just the info that the doctor ordered! Thank you for that!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 20, 2007 18:35:22 GMT -8
Here's a news story about a Gov't ferry system where most ships were built in the 1960's, and where they are just now starting to think about replacement..... sound familiar? A L A S K A ======================== www.voiceofthetimes.net:80/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=689&Itemid=2Some ferries make money,but all need attention By LEW M. WILLIAMS JR. Gov. Sarah Palin'’s proposed capital budget provides little for Alaska’'s 3,737-mile marine highway, sailed by 11 ships. It serves more than 30 communities along the North Pacific coast from Bellingham, Washington to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Haines residents Steve Homer and Ray Gelotte started Alaska ferry service in 1948 between Juneau'’s Tee Harbor and Haines and the highway to northern Alaska. They used a World War II landing craft, the Chilkoot. The Territory of Alaska bought their business in 1951 and improved it with the Chilkat, since retired. After statehood was granted in 1959, the Alaska Legislature approved putting a $23 million bond issue before the voters, pushed by legislators from Southeast, especially Ketchikan'’s Reps. J. Ray Roady and Oral Freeman, and by the Southeast Conference. After approval of the bonds in the November 1960 election, the state had the ferries Malaspina, Taku and Matanuska constructed for Southeast service and the Tustumena for the Kodiak-Homer-Seldovia run. Other ships came later with service to Seattle (later Bellingham) and the demand for service by outlying communities in Southeast. There were six bond proposals on that ballot in 1960. The most controversial, Proposition 2, was a bond to finance the ferry system. It almost went down to defeat because of strong opposition in the Anchorage area. Out of 52,000 ballots cast, ferries won by only 2,400. Bond Proposition 1, for state office buildings in Anchorage and Fairbanks, was universally opposed, even in Anchorage and Fairbanks. (Watch out for that proposed crime lab in Anchorage, Governor.) The other four passed easily —— money for hospitals, for a vocational school in northern Alaska, for the University of Alaska and for Bush airfields. The ferry bond issue lost 4-1 in the Anchorage area but other areas of the state, even Nome, approved it. — Southeast went 11-1. The current problem facing the ferry system, meaning the people of Alaska, is that assets on that lengthy “highway” are wearing out and there are no plans in the governor'’s budget for upgrading, much less plans to reconfigure the fleet to match the change in traffic patterns. The fleet was originally designed to serve 15 percent of the state’'s population in Southeast, plus Kodiak. Now two thirds of the northbound ferry travelers end up in Anchorage or Fairbanks, according to a McDowell Group study. Captain William H. Hopkins, recently retired from the ferry system after 30 years, having served on every route and on most of the ships. He says the Bellingham and westward routes have gained traffic so that ships operating on those runs make money, break even or lose little. Traffic throughout the system has increased the past couple of years, thanks to promotion of the system. That promotion should continue. On one trip before Hopkins took the Kennicott across the Gulf from Juneau, the ship was so loaded he had to pump out potable water to get the ship above its load line. Westward and Bellingham traffic is increasing while Prince Rupert traffic is declining because of increasing hassles at the border caused by terrorist’ threats. Canadians also have restrictions on firearms and on drivers with a DUI record or felony convictions. And they are concerned over child custody, meaning prove it is your child, or you have legal custody of the child traveling with you, or you are turned back at the border. Hopkins recommends more runs a week from Juneau’'s Auke Bay to Whittier, only 55 miles by road from Anchorage. On one trip the Kennicott could continue direct from Juneau to Bellingham and make money. On other trips the Kennicott could meet mainliners at Auke Bay and transfer passengers. The late Captain Richard Hofstad reported years ago that the Bellingham run made money. Hopkins repeats that and says three ferries should be on the Bellingham run during the summer months. That also justifies a new shuttle ferry between Ketchikan and Prince Rupert. Hopkins cautions, and anyone familiar with marine transportation realizes, that some plans must be made for replacing the 43-44-year old mainliners, and the Tustumena, after its 43-year beating in the Gulf of Alaska. He also recommends lengthening the Aurora and LeConte by 20 feet to allow them to again operate 24/7. They are now limited by the Coast Guard to day boat service. Increasing federal and international regulations have added to the cost of running the entire system, especially since 9-11. A new ship to back up those two would be helpful, the skipper says. He also says: “The state has been doing everything (transportation plans and high speed ferries) except what is needed, namely, new ships to replace the old ships built in 1963-64.” The governor is proposing a $140 million bond issue for transportation projects, primarily roads throughout the state. But she and the Legislature should add something for ferries. Remember, the ferry system needs new assets or upgraded assets as much as highways need new bridges and upgrades. And unlike highways, the ferry system collects more than $50 million a year in fares that go in the state’s general fund. Maybe this time Anchorage area voters, at least those who pack firearms, drink and have family custody problems, would support bonds for their “escape route.” =======================
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Post by SS Shasta on Dec 20, 2007 23:37:18 GMT -8
Mr. Williams is the retired publisher of our local fish wrapper here in Ketchikan. The oldest vessels in the AMHS fleet, the three Blue Canoes, are by far the most reliable ships in the system. The crews keep them in great condition. I just returned last Sunday from Bellingham on MV Malaspina.
The problem vessels include the newer MV Columbia that has been out of service since August with electrical and engine problems. It has a long history of serious mechanical problems. AMHS hopes she will be ready to return to service sometime in May 2008, but that is a bit uncertain.
The two recently built Fast Ferries are also problem vessels that are expensive to operate, experience frequent breakdowns, and are hard to handle in rough weather. The contract for more Fast Ferries was cancelled last year. I hope they will be the first to be retired.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Jan 8, 2008 10:46:29 GMT -8
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jan 22, 2008 16:21:14 GMT -8
I have a question, are there ferry sailings from Whittier Alaska to Skagway? During the summer months??? My family is thinking about a road trip up to Alaska, they dont want to cruise. I want to take a one way Alaska cruise which ends in Whittier Alaska. Could I hop on a Alaska Ferry and go from there to Skagway? As I would need to meet up with them somewhere up there and they arent sure if they are going as far as Anchorage. What cities arent landlocked on the coast that you could drive to??? I never been to Alaska so I dont know much about Alaska!
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 23, 2008 8:13:59 GMT -8
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
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Post by Mill Bay on Jan 24, 2008 11:44:05 GMT -8
Alaska ferry service from Bellingham WA being cut in halfBy STEVE QUINN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER JUNEAU, Alaska -- The financially struggling Alaska Marine Highway System will cut ferry service from Bellingham, Wash., through Alaska's Inside Passage by half - down to one trip per week. The news, delivered Tuesday by Deputy Transportation Commissioner Dennis Hardy, did not sit well with a government oversight body. House Transportation Committee members were critical of the agency's lack of detail and questioned the state's long-term commitment to a marine highway system it calls a statewide rather than a Southeast Alaska asset. "I don't see you guys out there being proactive," said committee Chairman Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan, whose town is considered a gateway to the Southeast from Canadian waters. "Where is the proactive effort by the department saying, 'Hey this is what we need to do it?'" he asked. "It's tough every year. It would be nice to fight with you rather than against you." The committee called Hardy because it wanted to know why a ferry schedule had not yet been released with the summer travel season just five months away. Hardy said the department is trying to contain costs while maintaining an aging fleet of 11 ships. Allocating time for increased maintenance prompted the drafting of a new schedule. "Instead of preparing what I would call a cookie-cutter schedule similar to prior years, we basically had to create an entirely new base schedule," he said. "This is no easy task. It's extremely complex and time-consuming." He called the schedule delay a one-time event, and said the schedule is the department's top priority. He promised it would be available on the system's Web site by Jan. 31. No cost-saving estimates or breakdowns were presented at the hearing, but Hardy said for every $1 earned, the system needs another $2 from the state's treasury to help fund operations. One way to help offset losses was to alter service from the Pacific Northwest to various ports in Southeast Alaska. Those unable to book passage from Bellingham during peak summer months can still opt for a ferry from Prince Rupert, British Columbia, but that's 514 miles north of Bellingham. That viability was challenged by several committee members, who say Bellingham's facilities are in better condition. Additionally, a weak U.S. dollar and increased identification standards for travel into and out of Canada could make the Prince Rupert option less appealing. Hardy said the agency's management based its Bellingham decision on undisclosed aggregate data made up of ridership and revenue, capacity percentages and cost savings. Committee member Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said more details are needed to understand that decision. "I just want to make sure we made a sound business decision rather than an emotional one," he said. "I'm never fond of decisions where a group of us got together and just made it." The state's marine highway system has faced great scrutiny just one week into the legislative session for not producing the ferry schedule. Lawmakers and travel industry executives say schedules should have been out months ago so potential travelers could book passage. "Transportation systems don't work without a schedule," said Minority Leader Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, who is not on the committee. "It's so basic. It's beyond belief. "We are a marine environment in the Southeast. This is the way we get around. Without a schedule, everybody's lives are set on end, and it doesn't work," she said. The delayed schedule and lack of details speak to a bigger problem of treating the marine highway system as an afterthought, committee members said. They stress that the system isn't just a benefit to Alaska's Southeast, but a nexus between the Pacific Northwest and all of Alaska. Rep. Woodie Salmon, D-Beaver, is from northern Alaska with no ties to the Southeast, but weighed in on the debate. "It seems to me that something is not right here," he said. "Every year it's a problem. We have to fight to keep this program going. "I don't want to say the administration wants to put it down, but why can't we just lift it up a little and keep it growing?" --- SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_ak_xgr_marine_highway.htmlLast updated January 22, 2008 8:33 p.m. PT
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Post by In Washington on Jan 24, 2008 12:29:21 GMT -8
"The two recently built Fast Ferries are also problem vessels that are expensive to operate, experience frequent breakdowns, and are hard to handle in rough weather. The contract for more Fast Ferries was cancelled last year. I hope they will be the first to be retired."
I hate to say it, but of course I will.
Nobody that I know is surprised the fast boats didn't work for Alaska. So far it seems that fast boats and the Pacific Northwest just do not get along. Clipper is about the only success story I can think of at the moment.
The PacificCats, WSF's sad history of fast ferries and now Alaska. I got a chance to tour the first Alaska boat when it was on display in Seattle. It was great looking but I have to admit I had my doubts.
Sometimes that old "60's" technology looks pretty darn good.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Jan 29, 2008 10:36:17 GMT -8
Another view on the current state of Alaska's ferries. When you consider that AMH vessels carried only 322,000 passengers last year, the subsidy of over $130 million works out to a rather staggering $400 for every passenger carried. Makes our system seem incredibly economical by comparison, although, admittedly, the two systems are far too different in scope to compare that simply. This piece from a journal with a conservative viewpoint.
Legislature must improve ferry system By LEW M. WILLIAMS JR. It is up to the Legislature to keep the Alaska Marine Highway System afloat, judging by Gov. Sarah Palin’'s budget for fiscal '’09.
The governor estimates the state soon will have a surplus of $5 billion that she is socking away in various savings accounts. She wants $1 billion of it in a transportation endowment, the earnings of which will finance transportation projects. It makes sense to have savings accounts and use the earnings to finance bonds to build capital projects. After the bonds are retired, we still have the savings and the completed projects. The governor also has proposed a $140 million bond issue for roads but nothing for the aging ferry fleet. So it is up to the Legislature. The ferry system requested $153 million to maintain current schedules for next year. The governor cut that . . . (cont'd from front page) to $138 million, still $5 million more than the current year’'s allocation. To cut expenses to match the budgeted amount, system managers reduced some service, such as taking the second ship off the Bellingham run during the summer and diverting more traffic to Prince Rupert. Cross-Gulf traffic also is cut by 50 percent. Under the new schedule, there would be one more trip per week out of Prince Rupert for Southeast ports. Putting the Malaspina on the Juneau to Haines-Skagway run gives that route more capacity and Sitka enjoys more service with the Fairweather operating there five times a week. System managers say the inconvenience of clearing customs at the Canadian border is overblown. But in two weeks all persons over 19 will need a passport or a birth certificate plus a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, to clear. And there is more. A driver with a DUI on his or her driving record, or with a misdemeanor or felony conviction, must go through the British consul in Seattle, where permission to travel through Canada is granted or denied on a case-by-case basis and costs $200. There are restrictions against carrying firearms. Proof of custody must be available on every child traveling through Canada with the child’'s birth certificate and notarized permission from parents of the child if traveling with grandparents, for example.The hassle is unnecessary if the traveler takes an Alaska ferry between Bellingham, Wash., and Alaska. Ferry system traffic sank from 420,500 passengers in ’'92 to 283,000 in 2005. Then promotion and improved service started by the Murkowski Administration took effect and traffic went up to 307,000 in ’'06 and to 322,000 in ’'07. Even though system traffic went up, traffic out of Prince Rupert, B.C., continued down in ‘'06 to 11,500, or 1,000 fewer than ’'05, compared with 15,000 boardings at Bellingham. There seems to be no reason to cut Bellingham service except to save money. System officials say that there are only two months a year when one ship can'’t handle Bellingham demand. They are working to change that by encouraging eight tour companies and others to transfer their operations from Bellingham to Prince Rupert. And why cut Westward traffic when the ports of Whittier, Cordova, Homer, and Valdez attract as much or more traffic then Prince Rupert and their traffic is increasing? With 18,000 passengers embarking at Whittier in ’'06, twice that of '’05, only the ports of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Haines handled more. Interior legislators note: Most of those Whittier travelers were headed to or from the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas. Legislators and the governor should at least provide funds to design modern and more efficient ships for the 44-year-old system. The Prince of Wales Island ferries and the new Lituya prove the success of modern more efficient ships designed for specific runs. The Le Conte or Aurora once served Metlakatla and Prince of Wales. Each needs a crew of 24 (16 in a day-boat operation) and burns 188 gallons of fuel per hour. The Lituya operates with a crew of 4, burning 55 gallons per hour. The Prince of Wales ferries have a crew of 5 and burn 70 gallons per hour. And each has been handling much more traffic than their predecessors. The ferry system had $2 million to design shuttle ferries for Ketchikan to Prince Rupert and to serve Haines and Skagway out of Juneau. But the program is suspended until the long-range transportation plan to 2030 is completed. And there is no assurance yet that the shuttles will be in it. Sometimes it appears that the Department of Transportation is the heaviest anchor dragging down the Alaska Marine Highway System. Instead of rebuilding the 43-year-old Tustumena for the westward runs, take advantage of what was learned in those years, consider traffic trends, and design a modern, more efficient ship. The same goes for runs using the catamarans with a crew of 10 burning 600 gallons per hour. At first, the proposal to run the Kennicott for two weeks and then tie it up in Ketchikan for two weeks to save money seems silly. But on second thought, the ship probably will be needed during its two-week layups to fill in when one of the other ships breaks down, as older ships tend to do. Anyway, it is up to the Legislature to improve the ferry system to better serve Alaskans. It’’s a system becoming more critical for Alaskans, even those living in portless cities like Wasilla, as border-crossing hassles increase.
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Lew Williams Jr. is a retired publisher of the Ketchikan Daily News who has been a Southeast Alaska journalist since 1946. His e-mail is lmwjr@worldnet
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 29, 2008 15:12:51 GMT -8
Quoted from Lew Williams JrSystem managers say the inconvenience of clearing customs at the Canadian border is overblown. But in two weeks all persons over 19 will need a passport or a birth certificate plus a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, to clear. And there is more. A driver with a DUI on his or her driving record, or with a misdemeanor or felony conviction, must go through the British consul in Seattle, where permission to travel through Canada is granted or denied on a case-by-case basis and costs $200. There are restrictions against carrying firearms. Proof of custody must be available on every child traveling through Canada with the child’'s birth certificate and notarized permission from parents of the child if traveling with grandparents, for example.The hassle is unnecessary if the traveler takes an Alaska ferry between Bellingham, Wash., and Alaska. I was not aware that the government of the UK was still handling affairs such as this with respect to Canada. Increased border hassles are largely a post '9/11' phenomenon put in place by the US federal government, and mirrored by Canada's federal govt. Canadians, and I suspect Alaskans also, would be better served by the proposed 'enhanced driver's licenses' and similar security measures.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 29, 2008 15:16:00 GMT -8
Thanks for posting that, Neil. It's easy to dismiss Alaska residents with the same argument that us BCers often give to our gulf-islanders: "If they choose to live in Alaska, they should expect travel hassles".
After all, Alaska is separated from the rest of the USA by a land-mass called Canada, and so of course there will be some border hassles. You could argue by comparison that the various European countries have far fewer border issues, but they are officially tied much closer together economically than Canada/USA are.
So some travel hassles are to be expected, just because of geographic and legal realities...
The article does point out the benefit of the Bellingham/Ketchikan run; that it's a border-free route, re the lack of a need to clear customs. I had usually thought of it as a tourist route, but members such as Mr.Shasta seem to use it for real-life connections to the rest of his/her country.
The examples of the newer small ships is interesting. Using many years of experience on the system to know what type of ship is needed, they've come up with a less-is-best concept in Lituya and the Prince of Wales Island ferries. Sounds like something similar to what BC Ferries was trying with their no-frills "Century Class" ships idea, a few years ago.
Prince Rupert's hotel industry is probably happy, re more Alaska traffic being herded through the Prince Rupert terminal. There's also a possible spin-off effect of more lower-48 traffic taking BC Ferries' ship from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert, as 1 part of the journey north (take the other part by land through BC, stopping at every Wal*Mart along the way, much like Canadians stop at every Tim Hortons....)
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