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Post by Low Light Mike on May 26, 2012 12:27:07 GMT -8
Here's a BCFerries drop-trailer item on a very full Queen of Alberni sailing, 3:15PM on the Friday of the May long-weekend.
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piglet
Chief Steward
Posts: 138
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Post by piglet on May 26, 2012 17:21:50 GMT -8
Yikes, they buy german boats and over priced/hyped tractors. For what they are doing a corn binder would be less and do just fine.
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Post by lmtengs on May 27, 2012 15:33:25 GMT -8
Yikes, they buy german boats and over priced/hyped tractors. For what they are doing a corn binder would be less and do just fine. I'm guessing that these larger highway tractors actually do door to door delivery. I've seen a couple on the roads.
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piglet
Chief Steward
Posts: 138
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Post by piglet on May 27, 2012 21:00:45 GMT -8
Just saying pete's are over priced and over hyped. An Internation is as nice just not as showy
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Post by Low Light Mike on Mar 6, 2013 15:20:01 GMT -8
Seaspan appeal dismissed: - It was essentially an appeal regarding the BC Ferry Commissioners actions re the drop-trailer competition matter. Court of Appeal decision here: courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/CA/13/00/2013BCCA0055.htmI read through the judgement, and none of it really interested me.
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KE7JFF
Chief Steward
Posts: 106
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Post by KE7JFF on May 17, 2013 2:37:57 GMT -8
One of my friends is a over the road driver and routinely goes into BC and uses BC Ferries or the Coho all the time . His opinion is that the drop trailer service offered from what he is seen is from organizations that seen to own trailers and use local hostlers to get loads between the Island and the mainland. He says there is also lots of people using Seaspan for the same purpose but Seaspan also he thinks has a door-to-door service as well which gets good money.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 2, 2015 16:19:37 GMT -8
BC Ferry Commissioner is looking for public comments re BC Ferries drop-trailer rates from HEREThe issue is that the commissioner needs to review the rates charged to drop-trailer customers, to ensure that they aren't too low (ie. thereby giving BCFS a subsidized advantage over a competitor like Seaspan)
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Post by Dane on Dec 2, 2015 21:07:20 GMT -8
I was on a sailing that was fifteen minutes late last week all because drop trailers boxed in a car and they couldn't clear the deck fast enough (one driver, multiple trailers). I have never been particularly keen on the whole operation, but when it is also running at the expense of timely performance it is even more frustrating. However, I do sail quite frequently and admittedly that is, to the best of my knowledge, the first drop-trailer related delay I have been effected by.
Despite the attempts and demonstrating to the contrary, the very fact the drop trailer service benefits directly from immediate prioritized access to both public infrastructure and otherwise full ferries does strike me as an un-level competitive advantage.
But I am also so firmly entrenched in my thought that the system should be heavily subsidized and a first-come-first-serve system that I may not be giving full appreciation to alternative revenue sources.
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Post by Mike C on Dec 2, 2015 21:38:38 GMT -8
Despite the attempts and demonstrating to the contrary, the very fact the drop trailer service benefits directly from immediate prioritized access to both public infrastructure and otherwise full ferries does strike me as an un-level competitive advantage. When the service was introduced, we (the public) were told that drop trailers would be utilizing otherwise unused capacity on quieter sailings. Whether this was their original intention or not, it's pretty clear that's not the case. I (and many others on this forum who travel on major routes, I am sure) have been bumped from many sailings with drop trailers aboard. The aforementioned delay adds to the frustration, given how atrociously preventable it was.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Dec 2, 2015 22:05:12 GMT -8
Despite the attempts and demonstrating to the contrary, the very fact the drop trailer service benefits directly from immediate prioritized access to both public infrastructure and otherwise full ferries does strike me as an un-level competitive advantage. When the service was introduced, we (the public) were told that drop trailers would be utilizing otherwise unused capacity on quieter sailings. Whether this was their original intention or not, it's pretty clear that's not the case. I (and many others on this forum who travel on major routes, I am sure) have been bumped from many sailings with drop trailers aboard. The aforementioned delay adds to the frustration, given how atrociously preventable it was. Drop trailer traffic doesn't just roll up to the tollbooth and bump the regular public from sailings. They reserve and pay in advance.
My usual cross strait journey is on route 30, and it has a fair amount of drop traffic. I'm totally in favour of BC Ferries challenging Seaspan for the business, even if the original service model has changed. I think it's the best legacy of the David Hahn era.
Seaspan challenged the fairness of the BC Ferries initiative, and the ferry commissioner continues to review operations as the business evolves. We need a sustainable 'public' ferry company, and I think drop trailer traffic is an essential part of that, even if on occasion I can't get on a sailing because of space that commercial operators have reserved.
Given that Seaspan found the cash to buy their only freight rival and are currently building new vessels to maintain their fleet, it's probably fair to say that BC Ferries has not choked them out of business.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 4, 2016 16:51:12 GMT -8
Here's a link to the feedback letters from the latest public consultation on BCF drop-trailers: HERE
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