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Post by hwy19man on May 11, 2007 23:23:00 GMT -8
Took me a while to find this thread as I like recycling threads. It looks as if one round trip on route 3 has made the chopping block. Effective September 4, the first round trip on Sunday mornings will not sail. and where did you get this info from? i have checked the RBI for a couple of different sundays in september and october and unless there was at one time a sailing from langdale to horseshoe bay before 6:20am then there is nothing being cut. in september and october the first sailing from langdale is 6:20 am Here is the direct link, www.bcferries.com/schedules/mainland/vasc-current.html
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Post by kylefossett on May 13, 2007 10:09:51 GMT -8
according to the RBI page this is not so. these sailings are available
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Post by hwy19man on May 13, 2007 13:34:07 GMT -8
according to the RBI page this is not so. these sailings are available You are correct about the RBI page as I am correct about the link I shown. Obviously there is a discrepancy, I will phone tomorrow and inquire about this.
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Post by Dane on Oct 1, 2008 10:17:01 GMT -8
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Post by farout on Oct 1, 2008 10:35:28 GMT -8
So what about the crews of the #1 ships that are on the runs , i.e.: CR and SOBC, Do they just switch over to #2 ships , i.e.: Queen of Cowichan, Queen of Vancouver, or are they only assigned to the that one boat?
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Oct 1, 2008 10:35:59 GMT -8
I was just looking through the schedules. Some sailings on route 2 effected are 6:30 and 10:30am from Nanaimo and 8:30am and 12:30pm from Horseshoe Bay. For route 3 they are cutting the second to last roundtrip Saturday nights and the first roundtrip Sunday morning. Now it will be even more difficult to get out of Nanaimo on a Sunday morning!
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Post by gordon on Oct 1, 2008 10:59:24 GMT -8
The B.C. Ferries news release says that the Queen of Vancouver will be replacing the Sof B.C. thru Mid Dec. this conflicts with their earlier plans to use her as the replacement for the Queen of Alberni from mid oct. to mid nov. what are they going to do with this plan?
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Oct 1, 2008 11:32:31 GMT -8
They could use the Queen of Coquitlam on route 30 if the Vancouver was replacing the SOBC. The schedule for route 30 is still the modified V schedule starting the 15th. They cant use the Saanich cause she is an extra unless the CC will be in service then. The SOBC is still listed right through till December so I guess they havent changed it yet. Should the Coquitlam be out of refit by then?
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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 1, 2008 11:47:58 GMT -8
apparently the CR burns about 3300-3600 litres of fuel every trip. for a 1 day total of 28800 litres each day.
the spirits when new and with a clean bottom burned 33000 litres per day.
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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 1, 2008 11:50:54 GMT -8
cowichan can't be used on route 30 from tsawwassen cause we are not trained on their life saving devices. SO you'd need to switch the CI and Cow, but the officers aren't trained on the bridge there, so again can't do it.
CC should be running by the mid novermber or so, so she will take over for the Sannich and then the Sannich can take over for the Van and the Van will replace the Alberni.
The company is going to do 1 more month of crew training on the CC so all crews at SWB Bay are familiar with it. That means the sannich will run till mid november.
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Oct 1, 2008 13:00:54 GMT -8
I don't get this... the CC and CI are essentially identical, so they should be easily interchangeable on route 30 if crews know how to operate one of them unless they are only training crews on one side of the straight which is likely the case. But aren't the Cowichan and Coquitlam essentially the same as well, so that crews familiar with one should be able to run the other.
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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 1, 2008 13:11:37 GMT -8
yes, they are only training Vancouver Island crews on the coastal ships. Also Nanaimo crews are the only ones training on the C class live saving devices
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Post by gordon on Oct 1, 2008 13:51:47 GMT -8
As far as cost reductions go , I know with airlines flying slower is a way of decreasing costs. I wonder if B.C. Ferries has thought of doing that?
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Mirrlees
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Post by Mirrlees on Oct 1, 2008 14:16:45 GMT -8
As far as cost reductions go , I know with airlines flying slower is a way of decreasing costs. I wonder if B.C. Ferries has thought of doing that? They, (BCFS), already run the ships at a slower speed to conserve fuel and, to reduce engine wear.
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Nick
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Post by Nick on Oct 1, 2008 14:41:04 GMT -8
Everybody I've talked to, has said October 17th as the CC's in-service date. That includes second-hand information from her senior master. I haven't heard anything about another month of training.
BCF does run as slow as they can to reduce fuel use, but it is a secondary priority to on-time performance. ie, they will run the ships faster to make up time, rather than run them late and burn less fuel.
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 1, 2008 16:59:58 GMT -8
BC Ferries is not saying this out loud, but reading between the lines here I am seeing two things:
1 - The Coastal class vessels are not nearly as fuel efficient as we have been led to believe. One is forced to conclude that a 25 year old C class vessel with an ancient hull design and an auto capacity of 360 must be more fuel efficient than a brand new Coastal class vessel with an auto capacity of 370. If not, why would they be making this switch?
2 - Fare increases, at well beyond the level of inflation, are leading to a significant reduction in demand. Fares, of course, are not the only reason for reduced demand.
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Post by Mike C on Oct 1, 2008 18:01:21 GMT -8
Global news aired this story this evening. I'm sorry for the rant, I will get to my personal comments in a moment, but first...
All the people they interviewed at Horseshoe Bay and Swartz Bay terminals cannot even talk, as they would never sail at those times anyways! They've already done this for a year on Route 30, and no complaints, and all of a sudden this. And then Global goes onto explain how it's a new ferry and how an older, smaller one would replace it. Guess what? IT TAKES 100 FEWER PEOPLE, 20 FEWER CARS! The Queen of Cowichan isn't THAT bad! It's not like they're putting in a slower boat, or a significantly smaller one. The Queen of Cowichan upgraded, fully furnished and has all the same basic amenities. Global News, when you start paying for the fuel costs of the Coastal Renaissance let me know, until then, cry me a river.
and now onto MY view...
I'm not a Route 1 or 2 goer, but I AM a Route 30 rider. The service cuts there never affected me a single bit. The only complaint that I have are the sailings cancelled in the morning on Route 2, I think those sailing cancellations span too late into the day.
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Nick
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Post by Nick on Oct 1, 2008 18:11:44 GMT -8
I think substitute of a C for Super-C is more based on crewing than fuel. I think (not sure) that a C needs somewhere in the neighbourhood of 28-32 crew for a full load, compared to a Super-C's requirement of around 40. That is a very significant increase in operating expenditure.
As far as the service cuts go, I optimistically think that this may be the beginning of the end. Eventually, in the next few years, the people of BC, if not the government, is going to realize that our marine highways cannot be run for profit. CP figured it out 50 years ago, BCF is going to re-learn it soon.
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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 1, 2008 22:18:18 GMT -8
this is a quote from BC Ferries Chief operating Officers report, released today :
Also, on Route 1 we will carry out another month of training on the Coastal Celebration so that we can optimize the Swartz Bay crews. Therefore, the Queen of Saanich will sail as the #2 vessel out of Swartz Bay for an additional month until mid-November. We still plan on selling both of the remaining V class vessels but have pushed out the dates because of these recent fleet deployment decisions.
Also, Subing a C for a Coastal has to be fuel. For example, the whole crew of the Alberni still comes in at regular time sunday mornings for extensive drills and cleaning of the vessel. So you could not save any money on crewing.
I know A Licence for a C is 34 crew.
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Post by gordon on Oct 2, 2008 4:43:00 GMT -8
The reservations pages do not show the ship re-deployments on routes 1&2 the 12:30 round trip has been removed on route#2
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Post by corporalrabbinoff on Oct 2, 2008 11:42:48 GMT -8
I should point out that the Queen of Coquitlam will NOT count as a extra boat. When the Coquitlam gets out of her refitt she will most likley take over for the Queen of Cowichan. Its the same old routine The Coquitlam goes in for refitt right after Summer, Then she replaces the Cowichan. This has been the normal for the last many years. Then later on in the winter the Coquitlam will be needed to replace the Queen of Surrey, Oak Bay and I would pursume before summer the Coastal Inspiration. Again, Once she gets out of Refit the Coq will replace the Cowichan well into November if they keep to the same refitt schedual.
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Post by Mike C on Oct 2, 2008 11:51:00 GMT -8
hmm. your refitt shedual for vessles is quite likley to be true, I pursume.
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Post by Dane on Oct 2, 2008 12:34:52 GMT -8
and now onto MY view... I'm not a Route 1 or 2 goer, but I AM a Route 30 rider. The service cuts there never affected me a single bit. The only complaint that I have are the sailings cancelled in the morning on Route 2, I think those sailing cancellations span too late into the day. It's never effected you, that's great, but it does effect a lot of other people. It will effect ME. I use Rte 1 for work and Rte 2 for family reasons; every sailing that's been cut is a sailing I take several times a year, particularly on Rte 1 with the Sunday morning reductions. Given that the reduction in traffic doesn't seem to be substantiated in other modes of transportation I genuinely believe BC Ferries has finally hit a point where the price point is too high to encourage ridership.
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Post by gordon on Oct 2, 2008 12:53:19 GMT -8
With the price of oil dropping I wonder when we will see more of their fuel surcharges being removed?
They were necessary but acted as a dissincentive when oil prices were high, so that would even be more noticiable now.
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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 2, 2008 14:19:52 GMT -8
yes dane it will affect lots of travellers, but one has to keep in mind the cost to sail and crew the boat on any 1 trip vs. the amount of people and vehicles carried. I've listened from the bridge of the Alberni on how few people some of the ships have aboard. some early mornins, its quite sad. how few people are aboard. So that means you have to tie up for certain sailings if you can. Everyone will make due.
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