Neil
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Post by Neil on Aug 20, 2018 21:29:20 GMT -8
Just counted about 110 vehicles in line for the ferry off Hornby, with the line expected to grow this afternoon. Many families with small children, more than half a mile from washroom facilities, and not a single BC Ferries employee in sight, though they've placed up to three at Gravelly Bay on a regular basis. Yesterday, Hornbyites arriving at Buckley Bay at 5pm were refused vehicle thrufares, with the last scheduled departure from Gravelly Bay being at 6:35. Many people didn't get home. No doubt it had to do with the overtime the crew has been working; yesterday the Kahloke ran until 8pm or so. The situation here has been intolerable this summer, with interminable waits virtually every day, but this is the first time many people can remember that ticket sales were cut off at 5pm. I've written letters, but have received no replies, and I know many others have as well. Even more galling is the sight of Quinitsa sitting unused At Buckley Bay, and even worse, the knowledge of huge expenditures in new vessels for many other islands, while Hornby waits until 2030 for any improvement. For some inexplicable reason the good folks that rely/depend on a ferry service to and from all the communities served by this ferry route have historically been given the 'bum's rush', to put it mildly. I hate to sound as if I'm re-inventing the obvious response to this deplorable lack of service but people are served by their constituent political representatives who rely on that on-going support each time a provincial election is called. Now is the height of discontent being imposed on the local populace, so now is the time to inundate the Hon. Scott Fraser, the Hon. Claire Trevena and the Hon. John Horgan with a tsunami of e-mails, faxes, voice messages, etc., to the extent that it melts the ice-cubes in their favourite libations! With the current NDP administration clinging to power by the thinnest of margins, one might conject that come next election time, the 'usually' safe seat occupied by Mr. Fraser might become the victim of rampant neglect and be lost to an opposition party. Electors have POWER! Marshalled collectively, changes can be forthcoming! Whilst the good denizens impacted by the current deplorable lack of service are inundating the aforesaid representatives to the extent of busting the budget on copy paper for their office printers, let's share the discontent with the appropriate generously paid folks at BCFS, (for what that may be worth). BCFS KNOWS how dismal service provision is on this route, especially during the height of the Summer season! Having a vessel standing unused at a dock, within sight of the inconvenienced masses is tantamount to giving the 'finger' to those very people. BCFS has a responsibility to get this mess resolved! At the very least perhaps they could provide some portable washroom facilities where none now exist! Dare one even surmise that BCFS take a page out of the 'Save-On-Foods' slogan of 'going the extra mile' by providing food trucks, shade tents, potable water, dog runs, etc. to demonstrate to the travelling public that this quasi-government operation might just give a damn! 'Just had an after thought here'. Maybe all of us who are aware of the plight of the users of this ferry route, also get our fingers tapping out messages to our local MLA's, especially if they are of the NDP stripe. Those of us who reside in non-NDP ridings, why not send that particular MLA an e-mail gift as well, that hopefully will find its 'light of day' upon the governing body at a most embarrassing moment! You live in a non-NDP riding? Haven't you ever thought about moving? I mean... one is known by the company one keeps... Just kidding. Well, maybe a bit. I'm kind of partisan... it's a failing of mine. But I should make clear that I'm not just whining about Hornby. Context and perspective are important, and I'm aware that other islands have also been enduring backlogs this summer. I can't help but focus on my own experiences. When I write to BC Ferries or to provincial reps, I point out what is being done system-wide, and how Hornby does or doesn't fit in with that. If I simply complained about hours long waits, the person on the other end could simply respond with, "things are tough all over". So, if I can come back with, "yeah, but you're building two new ferries for Quadra, with all the attendant labour and fuel costs"... I love Quadra, and I'm really happy their needs are being addressed. I just find it worthwhile to inquire about priorities, and so far, I haven't received any answers, so more inquiries are in order, pointless though they might be.
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 26, 2018 13:20:42 GMT -8
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 31, 2018 14:14:40 GMT -8
/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1035580740262453248&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews.ca%2Fnews%2F4421028%2Fbc-ferries-workers-cancellations-tsawwassen-swartz-bay%2F
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 31, 2018 14:17:15 GMT -8
"B.C. Ferries blamed the cancellations on an “incident involving one of the ship’s rescue boats,” but the union representing ferry workers says two crew members suffered injuries as the result of a failure with the Spirit of Vancouver Island’s davit — the ship’s crane used for lowering the rescue boat — that resulted in two crew falling into the water from a significant height.
“This is the second time this year there has been a substantial failure regarding rescue boats, and these incidents cause our union deep concern” said Graeme Johnston, B.C. Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union provincial president."vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-ferries-cancels-four-tsawwassen-swartz-bay-sailings-due-to-faulty-life-boat
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 31, 2018 15:11:13 GMT -8
Some of the links I have posted are mentioning that there will be a 2300h sailing from TSA.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,189
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Post by Neil on Sept 2, 2018 19:51:04 GMT -8
The summer hordes are definitely departing their Salish Sea island retreats. Arriving back at Hornby this afternoon at 5:45... eight vehicles getting off the Kahloke, 79 waiting to leave the island on a 27 car ferry, with the last scheduled departure at 6. More overtime for the crew, but the gravy train- wanted or not- ends in a couple of days.
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Post by hwy19man on Sept 10, 2018 13:41:01 GMT -8
Route 2 has been busy since the shoulder season schedule began as the COQ has been doing a MD sailing at 1430h on the weekdays prior to its 1730h sailing on route 3 from HSB. It also seems to be doing a revenue return trip from Langdale prior to its 1930h sailing on route 2 from HSB.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,189
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Post by Neil on Oct 8, 2018 19:35:06 GMT -8
Sometimes you just have to go... "huh?"
Darin Guenette, as quoted by the Times Colonist, after today's four sailing wait from Swartz Bay:
The Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen route is seeing especially high demand as participants in Sunday’s Royal Victoria Marathon return to the mainland, said Darin Guenette, spokesperson for B.C. Ferries. “It’s been really, really busy — as expected. All the extra sailings we have put on have been fully utilized. We have not had any delays.”
First of all- a pet peeve of mine. Sailings on long weekends, above the minimum schedule, are not 'extra sailings'. They're sailings that are absolutely required in peak periods.
Secondly. 'No delays'? Well, maybe he means al the sailings left more or less on time. But anyone sitting at a terminal like Swartz Bay, with minimal passenger amenities, for four hours, might quarrel with that assessment.
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 8, 2018 19:49:56 GMT -8
Sometimes you just have to go... "huh?" I noticed that BC Ferries now has a new excuse (I mean 'reason') for delays ... I'm pretty sure that they have been dealing with multiple ships for better than half a century now.
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Post by yak on Oct 8, 2018 20:01:26 GMT -8
Sometimes you just have to go... "huh?" I noticed that BC Ferries now has a new excuse (I mean 'reason') for delays ... I'm pretty sure that they have been dealing with multiple ships for better than half a century now.
I do know there were a number of times in the summer where Route 1 and Route 30 would interfere with the discharge of Route 9 in Tsawwassen. If there happened to be a ship from Victoria in at the same time as a ship from Nanaimo it wasn't unheard of for the Gulf Island boat to have to wait for the Nanaimo ship to finish discharging before we could let anyone off. The reason was that both the north and the south exits from the terminal were blocked with traffic. Even if Route 1 wasn't in yet but the terminal anticipated the arrival of a Route 1 ship while Route 30 was discharging Route 9 would be made to wait because they'd set up to send traffic out the south exit. Believe me, as a member of the deck crew, no delay was more frustrating after hustling to keep everything on time leaving the islands only to have to sit in the dock with a full load waiting to get off...
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 8, 2018 20:11:14 GMT -8
I was not trying to imply that this reason is not a valid reason. It has in fact been a valid reason for more than fifty years now. Its just notable that only now are they (BC Ferries) actually listing this as a reason for delays.
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Post by futureferrydriver on Oct 14, 2018 17:13:25 GMT -8
A lot of people travelling this weekend for the Luke Bryan concert, all route 1 sailings from Tsawwassen have sold out for tonight. I wonder if we’ll be seeing an extra round trip tonight...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 14, 2018 18:24:53 GMT -8
A lot of people travelling this weekend for the Luke Bryan concert, all route 1 sailings from Tsawwassen have sold out for tonight. I wonder if we’ll be seeing an extra round trip tonight... I'd like to think it's because of vast musical diversity now present in the world, but I probably am just getting old and only know the music that I grew up with. You could have said "Bryan Luke" and I'd be just as clueless. But his name suggests a country singer. ------------ Back in the early 1980s, I happened to be traveling with my family to the mainland on Route-2 on a weekend day (I was probably 14 years old), and there was an AC/DC concert in Vancouver that evening. The ferry was full of the kinds of kids that I normally saw smoking outside the school door at recess in grade-8. For those about to rock, we salute you.
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Post by Dane on Nov 8, 2018 18:51:43 GMT -8
Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen has been sold out since 530pm for the day. Foot pax wait on the 7pm, which I'm on. Busy times don't seem to be ending.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 19, 2020 10:01:26 GMT -8
We're not post-Covid, but we are in terms of people getting out and about. If you arrive at Horseshoe Bay now (11am), you'll be on the 6:50 to Departure Bay, or the 5:30 to Langdale. Clearly, it's time to ramp up the schedule.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2020 10:04:38 GMT -8
I reckon BC Ferries will be forced into adding back cancelled sailings and returning the sched to normal weather they like it or not. People will not accept this for long.
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Post by Starsteward on Jun 20, 2020 12:00:47 GMT -8
We're not post-Covid, but we are in terms of people getting out and about. If you arrive at Horseshoe Bay now (11am), you'll be on the 6:50 to Departure Bay, or the 5:30 to Langdale. Clearly, it's time to ramp up the schedule. Just to clarify your point there 'Neil', are you referring to vehicle traffic, foot passengers or both? Either way, the passenger section of the terminal is not a great space for people to be congregating. I agree, it's definitely time for BCFS to ramp up the schedule!
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Post by Departure Bay on Jun 29, 2020 14:25:58 GMT -8
Ferry travel is an absolute mess today. Duke Point and Departure Bay have a two sailing wait. Every ferry on both routes is late. The Coastal Inspiration has gone over to Duke Point to take over from the Coastal Renaissance but even the CI can't get out on time. (This was a planned swap and has nothing to do with last night's problems on the CR.) BC Ferries is ramping up service on the Departure Bay route on July 2 so hopefully this will help with better performance. I don't envy the BC Ferries staff having to manage all this, for sure.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 29, 2020 17:22:53 GMT -8
Ferry travel is an absolute mess today. Duke Point and Departure Bay have a two sailing wait. Every ferry on both routes is late. The Coastal Inspiration has gone over to Duke Point to take over from the Coastal Renaissance but even the CI can't get out on time. (This was a planned swap and has nothing to do with last night's problems on the CR.) BC Ferries is ramping up service on the Departure Bay route on July 2 so hopefully this will help with better performance. I don't envy the BC Ferries staff having to manage all this, for sure. For one thing, they're trying to do a two hour turnaround on route two, which isn't really feasible when things are busy. In a few days they'll be adding fifteen minutes dock time, which should help with the schedule. I'm betting that by the beginning of August, we'll be back to almost normal summer schedules. I don't buy that route one schedule lasting through the summer. Only thing that could dampen things would be a significant ramping up of covid 19 cases.
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Post by Kahloke on Jun 29, 2020 20:14:06 GMT -8
Ferry travel is an absolute mess today. Duke Point and Departure Bay have a two sailing wait. Every ferry on both routes is late. The Coastal Inspiration has gone over to Duke Point to take over from the Coastal Renaissance but even the CI can't get out on time. (This was a planned swap and has nothing to do with last night's problems on the CR.) BC Ferries is ramping up service on the Departure Bay route on July 2 so hopefully this will help with better performance. I don't envy the BC Ferries staff having to manage all this, for sure. For one thing, they're trying to do a two hour turnaround on route two, which isn't really feasible when things are busy. In a few days they'll be adding fifteen minutes dock time, which should help with the schedule. I'm betting that by the beginning of August, we'll be back to almost normal summer schedules. I don't buy that route one schedule lasting through the summer. Only thing that could dampen things would be a significant ramping up of covid 19 cases. It's a similar situation with WSF, too, particularly on the Anacortes-San Juan Islands route, which is still on the winter schedule and its shorter dwell (turnaround) times. The boats there are running late pretty much every day now. Perhaps it's time to go to a modified summer schedule?
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Neil
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Posts: 7,189
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Post by Neil on Jun 29, 2020 21:24:26 GMT -8
For one thing, they're trying to do a two hour turnaround on route two, which isn't really feasible when things are busy. In a few days they'll be adding fifteen minutes dock time, which should help with the schedule. I'm betting that by the beginning of August, we'll be back to almost normal summer schedules. I don't buy that route one schedule lasting through the summer. Only thing that could dampen things would be a significant ramping up of covid 19 cases. It's a similar situation with WSF, too, particularly on the Anacortes-San Juan Islands route, which is still on the winter schedule and its shorter dwell (turnaround) times. The boats there are running late pretty much every day now. Perhaps it's time to go to a modified summer schedule? Either side of the border, we're seeing land and marine based transit systems dealing with unprecedented deficits in usage and revenue, and now, people gradually feeling more confident about getting around. They're all adjusting on the fly. Things might look very much different a month from now.
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Post by dofd on Jul 17, 2020 0:51:06 GMT -8
Well somehow friends of my brother are coming and going between Pender and Tsawwassen with no delays. They went there and now they are back. Yes unhappy face.
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Post by Departure Bay on Sept 8, 2020 6:38:49 GMT -8
It's going to be a long day for those wanting to get off Vancouver Island today. 5 sailing wait at Duke Point!!
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Neil
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Posts: 7,189
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Post by Neil on Jul 1, 2021 12:03:10 GMT -8
Messaging weirdness from BC Ferries right now. Scrolling through major terminal status, space is available on route two for all sailings today (as of 1pm). However, going specifically to route two status shows a five sailing wait, which agrees with the service notice. Reserved traffic is being told they might not get on the next sailing, let alone the one they've actually arrived for, due to traffic congestion.
The post-Covid travel breakout is clearly underway.
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Post by arrrrmatey on Jul 1, 2021 19:46:17 GMT -8
Messaging weirdness from BC Ferries right now. Scrolling through major terminal status, space is available on route two for all sailings today (as of 1pm). However, going specifically to route two status shows a five sailing wait, which agrees with the service notice. Reserved traffic is being told they might not get on the next sailing, let alone the one they've actually arrived for, due to traffic congestion. The post-Covid travel breakout is clearly underway. I arrived at Horseshoe Bay at 6am and the lineup was just starting to back up onto highway 1. I was hoping for the 7:30 to Langdale but it was already full, and ended up on the 9:50. I overheard some people talking to one of the terminal attendants saying that they had reservations for 7:30 but couldn’t get into the terminal because there was too much traffic in the pre-ticket booth area. The ferry traffic lineup ended up extending almost all the way to Taylor Way along highway 1 by about 9am. This is something that I’ve never seen happen, and I’m guessing it was fairly unexpected. Since Horseshoe bay has such limited space it is difficult to accommodate all traffic inside…. Though it doesn’t appear as though BC Ferries uses the terminal space very effectively (from an outside observers perspective). They only appear to sell enough tickets for a bit more than a full sailing on each route. Perhaps this is to prevent lane jumping, and they don’t have enough staff to monitor the top end of the lanes all the time. Regardless, people not being able to claim their reservations despite arriving on time isn’t acceptable, and I hope they can figure out a plan to account for this, or prevent it, in the future.
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