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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 11, 2013 17:38:31 GMT -8
Sointula has a fun choir named "Choir of Complaints"
- the first song in this video is about ferries
The rest of the video will give you a good idea of Malcolm Island life (and humour)
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 24, 2014 23:31:08 GMT -8
An article about why some Sointula high school students hate riding the QQII ferry, to get to school at Port McNeill - they don't like the seats in the passenger lounge. Sointula article
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Post by northwesterner on Jan 24, 2014 23:44:58 GMT -8
An article about why some Sointula high school students hate riding the QQII ferry, to get to school at Port McNeill - they don't like the seats in the passenger lounge. Sointula articleHave to get up at 7AM to catch the ferry? That seems awfully late, when does school start, 9AM? As I recall, I had to be at the bus stop at 7:03 if I chose to ride the city bus to my high school.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 23:48:22 GMT -8
Have to get up at 7AM to catch the ferry? That seems awfully late, when does school start, 9AM? As I recall, I had to be at the bus stop at 7:03 if I chose to ride the city bus to my high school. I guess you had a choice
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SolDuc
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SolDuc and SOBC - Photo by Scott
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Post by SolDuc on Jan 24, 2014 23:56:01 GMT -8
Have to get up at 7AM to catch the ferry? That seems awfully late, when does school start, 9AM? As I recall, I had to be at the bus stop at 7:03 if I chose to ride the city bus to my high school. Yeah, that's exactly the same thing I thought. I have to be on my way at 7:10 in order to arrive at school on time, and I don't even take the bus or get stuck in traffic. I would love to be able to wake up at 7 everyday! Oh well, it's the north coast!
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Post by northwesterner on Jan 25, 2014 0:55:54 GMT -8
Have to get up at 7AM to catch the ferry? That seems awfully late, when does school start, 9AM? As I recall, I had to be at the bus stop at 7:03 if I chose to ride the city bus to my high school. I guess you had a choice Yeah, well, even these kids have to get themselves to the ferry terminal somehow... whether by car, foot, bike or bus. As a freshman I had to be at the bus stop even earlier, like 6:47 or something equally brutal because our school was being rebuilt and we had to ride the yellow school bus transportation to our interim site. No choice there though I distinctly remember running for the school bus, missing it, and having to keep on running to the city bus stop to try and get to school on time. After that, the choice was drive or ride the city bus. But even at $1.05/gal I didn't have any gas money, so I usually took the city bus. Besides, my Saab 99 (the 99 refers to the model, not year) took so long to warm up in the morning that it wouldn't run right until I was just pulling into my parking spot.
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Post by northwesterner on Jan 25, 2014 1:09:53 GMT -8
And a quick google search shows that school starts at 0855 in Port McNeill; Since the first ferry doesn't leave Sointula until 0755, I guess they can't start any earlier.
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Post by priver on Sept 25, 2014 12:13:44 GMT -8
Looks like FSG shipyard has been bought and taken over by a norwegien firm
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 17, 2015 19:43:06 GMT -8
When it is ferry time at Sointula, the residents park all over the place as they wait to pick up people from the soon-to-arrive ferry. And they also visit with those in the formal line-up for leaving the island. And they also buy a few things from the Co-op gas bar. These vehicles (even the ones on the road lanes) aren't moving. They're parked. - January 5, 2015: Like Brigadoon, the town comes alive for just a brief moment.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Sept 28, 2015 22:31:23 GMT -8
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Post by Starsteward on Sept 29, 2015 7:07:43 GMT -8
Sointula has a fun choir named "Choir of Complaints" - the first song in this video is about ferries The rest of the video will give you a good idea of Malcolm Island life (and humour) Thanks for posting that little bit of true local colour. The vocals paint a 'community canvass' as only small town folks can do. As an 'Island' community, it's no surprise that the choral piece begins with a humorously tame expose of local ferry service foibles. Malcolm Islanders take heart, at least you have a ferry service that isn't 'strung' across Johnstone Strait.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2015 17:41:32 GMT -8
There's light at the end of the tunnel, I believe, as a new vessel is in the works. So much for trashing the Chilliwack early!!
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 29, 2015 21:20:07 GMT -8
There's light at the end of the tunnel, I believe, as a new vessel is in the works. So much for trashing the Chilliwack early!! A very faint light at the end of a very long tunnel. There has yet to be an official announcement about this, other than Todd Stoned's musing to a Cariboo newspaper. It will be at least 2020 before there is a new vessel in place and by then it will be much too late.
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Post by Curtis on Nov 10, 2015 12:57:21 GMT -8
I imagine a few of you will get a laugh out of this. In the wake of less service and higher fares, the City of Powell River is asking the question, "Why don't we run our own ferry service?" Link to Article: www.prpeak.com/articles/2015/11/10/news/doc56413f69e2855102365760.txtWhile I do agree it's an interesting idea, I highly doubt a self-run service could succeed, cause unless this service was to get a significant subsidy, all it's gonna do is bankrupt the city.
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Post by Starsteward on Nov 10, 2015 16:10:14 GMT -8
The idea of running their own ferry service might have more legs than one thinks. Because the issue has now been made public by a civic administration, the complaint will bear more weight than the NFCSA speaking to the 'wall' as it were. Now the provincial government and BC Ferries have to consider how they're going to bully a bigger kid on the block. Secondly, maybe BC Ferries would love nothing more than to abandon that route and would provide BCF the opportunity to cancel one of the three 'sausage' boats. If the local government could get some long-term financial backing from industry and business operators in that corner of the planet, the concept of running a ferry service (and not just to Little River) might be doable. It wouldn't be the first time a local civic government has undertaken such a project. It is, of course all in the financing.
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Post by Mike C on Nov 10, 2015 17:52:02 GMT -8
The idea of running their own ferry service might have more legs than one thinks. Because the issue has now been made public by a civic administration, the complaint will bear more weight than the NFCSA speaking to the 'wall' as it were. Now the provincial government and BC Ferries have to consider how they're going to bully a bigger kid on the block. Secondly, maybe BC Ferries would love nothing more than to abandon that route and would provide BCF the opportunity to cancel one of the three 'sausage' boats. If the local government could get some long-term financial backing from industry and business operators in that corner of the planet, the concept of running a ferry service (and not just to Little River) might be doable. It wouldn't be the first time a local civic government has undertaken such a project. It is, of course all in the financing. Legislatively, the cards are stacked against local government taking over a provincially mandated ferry service. Both the Coastal Ferry Act and Local Government Act would require that there is a service agreement in place between the Province and the municipal governments involved (Powell River RD, Comox Valley RD, CO Powell River, etc). This will be a difficult task to accomplish given the province's interest in micro-managing the ferry system. Additionally, there is no way that local government has the financial capability to operate this service, which would require a subsidy from the province anyway. A P3 with local business I don't think would be feasible. Remember, this isn't about what BCFS wants, it will be up to the province. EDIT: just read the part of your post re. canceling the contract for a Salish class vessel: the contract has been signed and steel has been cut. Canceling that contract would be an immediate lawsuit for BCFS. Sorry, I really don't want to come off as Captain Bringdown, but this is a concept that would fail in execution.
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 10, 2015 17:55:23 GMT -8
I imagine a few of you will get a laugh out of this. In the wake of less service and higher fares, the City of Powell River is asking the question, "Why don't we run our own ferry service?" Link to Article: www.prpeak.com/articles/2015/11/10/news/doc56413f69e2855102365760.txtWhile I do agree it's an interesting idea, I highly doubt a self-run service could succeed, cause unless this service was to get a significant subsidy, all it's gonna do is bankrupt the city.
I wouldn't put much hope in any meeting with the honorable minister, since all other concerns expressed by other communities have been so blankly ignored. It seems apparent he was handpicked for his role, not because he knows anything special about transportation, but because he has been well schooled in how not be motivated by anything but the party line, and adhering unfailingly to the whims of the party leaders, no matter what they are.
The more disappointing aspect is the fact that the concerns of the local communities whose residents pay their own money into the ferries don't see it accounted for when the services are allocated back to them. The operation surely costs the individual users far more when all the figures are adjusted than it does the corporation, when the larger company has far greater access to capital resources and also a far greater ability to claim tax write offs and public subsidies that individual fare paying users can only dream of when their wallets are empty.
As has been stated before, the ferries should be considered essential services and subsidized as such. It shouldn't matter 2 cents whether the operation makes revenue for the ferry corporation. Also, aren't they technically not a corporation anymore? BCFerries Corporation hasn't existed for how many years? Whatever legal entity they fall under, the ferries have always been a political tool, and the current party in power seems fixed on using that tool in a highly impractical fashion that can only be seen as backwards to the way it could or should be used.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 19:57:19 GMT -8
Legislatively, the cards are stacked against local government taking over a provincially mandated ferry service. Both the Coastal Ferry Act and Local Government Act would require that there is a service agreement in place between the Province and the municipal governments involved (Powell River RD, Comox Valley RD, CO Powell River, etc). This will be a difficult task to accomplish given the province's interest in micro-managing the ferry system. Additionally, there is no way that local government has the financial capability to operate this service, which would require a subsidy from the province anyway. A P3 with local business I don't think would be feasible. Remember, this isn't about what BCFS wants, it will be up to the province. EDIT: just read the part of your post re. canceling the contract for a Salish class vessel: the contract has been signed and steel has been cut. Canceling that contract would be an immediate lawsuit for BCFS. Sorry, I really don't want to come off as Captain Bringdown, but this is a concept that would fail in execution. Re: cancelling the third Salish vessel (Salish Raven): Even if Powell River did succeed in running their own service, they'd have to lease the Island Sky, Queen of Burnaby and the NIP from the province, meaning that the third Salish would be needed for refits and such... Like Curtis, I don't see this working without bankrupting the municipality either. But I can see why they're exploring the option, as the current route 7 schedule is pathetic in terms of frequency (5.5 hour midday gap on Sundays!!). This past Friday and Sunday, the Bowen Queen did an MD roundtrip at 19:40 and 20:40 from Saltery Bay and Earls Cove, respectively. These sailings, pre-April 2014, were regularly scheduled. I realize that there wouldn't be any extra sailings with the Sky, but the latter is way too big for route 7.
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Post by Kahn_C on Nov 10, 2015 21:17:45 GMT -8
The Province should send the Capilano back up to route 7 and let Bowen have the Island Sky. The Capilano was well-suited for the traffic on 7 when she was there.
I don't see how Formosa could possibly come up with something that was affordable to use that wouldn't bankrupt every regional gov't involved (assuming you could even get all of them to agree to work together on it).
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Post by Starsteward on Nov 11, 2015 12:56:26 GMT -8
I must admit that my most recent post on this thread was somewhat of a trial balloon to see what thoughts were out there and it's obvious many of you have done some good homework on this subject and provide some very reasonable arguments as to why my balloon went POP! That said, most obviously, this whole issue of BC Ferries and their relationship with the coastal communities they serve, should, and hopefully will get bounced back directly into the political arena for much legislative and public discussion. As we know, there won't be a huge positive swing in operating philosophy from the present gang, thus all affected stakeholders in B.C. should set their sights on 2017 when perhaps a change in ruling party could re-investigate the entire structure of BC Ferries with perhaps a view to returning BCF to the status of a full crown corporation.
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Post by Mike C on Nov 11, 2015 16:41:51 GMT -8
I must admit that my most recent post on this thread was somewhat of a trial balloon to see what thoughts were out there and it's obvious many of you have done some good homework on this subject and provide some very reasonable arguments as to why my balloon went POP! That said, most obviously, this whole issue of BC Ferries and their relationship with the coastal communities they serve, should, and hopefully will get bounced back directly into the political arena for much legislative and public discussion. As we know, there won't be a huge positive swing in operating philosophy from the present gang, thus all affected stakeholders in B.C. should set their sights on 2017 when perhaps a change in ruling party could re-investigate the entire structure of BC Ferries with perhaps a view to returning BCF to the status of a full crown corporation. You are right - this comes down to BC Ferries' relationship with coastal communities, if anything. During the schedule consultation in the Gulf Islands, we discussed the challenges of "winners and losers" when it came to making those types of decisions. This event, on the other hand, has been a complete undermining of the consultation process to begin with - it is nothing short of ridiculous that a community cannot voice their primary concerns of their connection with the mainland without being berated. How additionally ridiculous is it, that through all of this, the province, as the owner of the ferries, has chosen to take the back seat. I half expect Todd Stone to appear dressed in red-and-white striped shirts, blue jeans, and a red hat, in large photographs in children's books titled "Where's the Province?" Not a breath hath been spoken from the minister regarding any sort of community consultation.
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Post by Starsteward on Nov 11, 2015 17:12:30 GMT -8
The absolutely LAST thing Christie's gang, particularly Minister Stone want to talk about is ferry boats...period!! With the 'BSC' balloon beginning to take on the size of the 'Goodyear' blimp, Minister Stone will bend any news reporter's ear for hours talking about new bridges, road tolling, or the latest remedy for chronic hiccups. Imagine the Clarke gang sweating through each day until the end of the current sitting of the legislature, hoping that someone from BCF doesn't misspeak to a nosy reporter or two and have all hell break loose. Crisis management is in full swing with the Liberal bunch, hoping they can escape this session without any more you know what, hitting the fan. Christmas can't come soon enough.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 11, 2015 21:38:15 GMT -8
Lots of good points made by forum members on this news story. I wonder if any communities put forth proposals during that deeply flawed alternate service provider process, or if non-commercial parties were even eligible. I know that the Powell River-Comox route was one that was opened up, but I don't recall if there was any response. Perhaps Powell River wasn't quite so frustrated several years ago.
In one sense, Powell River is pretty well served by BC Ferries. Both the Island Sky and the Queen of Burnaby have more capacity than their routes require... even in peak season, overloads are rare. On the other hand, I know that Powell River residents have been irked when on occasion the 'Burnaby has sailed partly full, leaving vehicles behind, because BC Ferries insists on the minimum crew complement. BC Ferries has also turned a deaf ear to berthing the route seventeen vessel in their community, even though it is 'their' ferry. Powell River residents use the route to access medical services and specialists in the Comox Valley area, but the schedule means they can't get to appointments before 10 am, and it can be argued that ferry jobs on the route should be based in Powell River. Of course, there has also been the cutbacks in schedules on that route as well as route seven, and the evening sailing from Powell River to Comox is essentially a deadhead run, not even justifiable from a BC Ferries viewpoint.
I doubt that Powell River council has done the math on just how much they might have to contribute beyond the province's subsidy to actually provide the same or better service, were they to take over these routes. They do lose a lot of money on operations.
There are very few examples of communities taking over what were considered to be insufficient government car ferry services in our part of the world. Prince of Wales Island in Alaska has done it with the Inter-Island Ferry Authority, but they apparently went in with the nearby towns of Wrangell and Petersburg to do it, and I haven't been able to locate any data on their financing, or on the level of state subsidy, as opposed to what the state provided when AMHS was providing the connection. Here in BC, the Lax kw'alaams First Nation operates the former Nicola, on lease (?) from BC Ferries, but I don't know how federal money might come into play there. Both services are not cheap for the users.
Many coastal communities are increasingly frustrated at their service and fare levels with BC Ferries, and at the almost insolent refusal of the province to listen to their concerns. What concrete actions they can take remains a real question, as is this trial balloon by Powell River.
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Post by WettCoast on Dec 11, 2015 22:22:22 GMT -8
No driver's license, no ride, even as a foot passenger? There is more, follow the link from the Bowen Island Current below ...Though this incident involved a resident of Bowen Island it could have happened anywhere in BC Ferries' system. It appears to me that the Horseshoe Bay terminal attendants & security went well beyond the bounds of decency. www.bowenislandundercurrent.com/opinion/letters/bc-ferries-customer-service-1.2130965
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Dec 11, 2015 22:51:29 GMT -8
No driver's license, no ride, even as a foot passenger? There is more, follow the link from the Bowen Island Current below ...Though this incident involved a resident of Bowen Island it could have happened anywhere in BC Ferries' system. It appears to me that the Horseshoe Bay terminal attendants & security went well beyond the bounds of decency. www.bowenislandundercurrent.com/opinion/letters/bc-ferries-customer-service-1.2130965 In BC, you are indeed subject to a fine if you do not produce a driver's license if a police officer demands it. And, BC Ferries does need to see proof of residency when issuing Experience cards. So, strictly speaking, the terminal attendant was right.
But what boorish behavior, and what dreadful customer relations. The world would not have ended if this jerk had just let the woman get a card and be on her way.
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