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Post by Hardy on May 24, 2007 13:23:34 GMT -8
Recent doings and comings and delayed goings have led me to put up this poll and discussion area. I think you all probably know where I stand on this one ...  |
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Post by Northern Exploration on May 24, 2007 13:27:09 GMT -8
hmmmm which vote is Hardy's lol
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Post by Hardy on May 24, 2007 13:49:39 GMT -8
hmmmm which vote is Hardy's lol Am I that predictable?  Try booking commercial reservations these days! Everything is pretty well already "BLOCK BOOKED" by the major carriers, and then cancelled mere 31 mins before the sailing. Had to send a few trucks just hoping to get on, even though the CC was showing waits and delays. The last week has been just brutal from the Mainland to the Island (and back) for commercial vehicles.....  |
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Post by Hardy on May 24, 2007 15:41:24 GMT -8
I think you all probably know where I stand on this one ... Further to this, at 1638 there is now a 2 sailing OH/Comm wait on the Tsa-DP run - both the 1745 and 2015 sailings are full on the main deck. Gonna be a long day for truckers queued up at Tsa again!  |
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Post by WettCoast on May 24, 2007 16:34:51 GMT -8
Maybe you need an all or most of the above choice. It appears to me that BCFS's is deliberately operating a reduced level of service on most routes so as to condition people to shell out an additional $15 to $17.50 for a reservation.
I am virtually certain that a few years ago on Route 1 in late May there would be 12 or more sailings in each direction daily. Right now they are operating as few as nine. The Vancouver and Saanich seem to be idle most of the time. Perhaps they are wishing not to work the old girls too hard.
We need to also keep in mind that reduced service on Route 1 sends more people and cars heading for routes 2 or 30.
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Post by Dane on May 24, 2007 17:01:48 GMT -8
I think they're just trying to be more cost effective, which I wouldn't penalize them for. There weren't any back up periods lately where there was a ship readily available for service.
I am concerned, though, about how long some of these recent refits have been running thus limiting the number of vessels available.
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Post by Hardy on May 24, 2007 19:04:20 GMT -8
Well, it's before 2000 and the rest of the evening up til the 2245 sailing out of Tsa is all booked up for commercial traffic, again. I understand that BCFS needs to make sure that most sailings are at least 75-80% full in order to operate efficiently, but as has been stated eloquently, it definately seems that they are running less Mainland-Island sailings this year than the last several years!  The underlying purpose for this? Dunno. Is there an ulterior motive? Could be. Will we ever know? Who knows...... |
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Post by hergfest on May 25, 2007 3:13:28 GMT -8
I believe the Vancouver did two unscheduled round trips today on Route 1. At least they added some capacity.
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Post by Hardy on May 25, 2007 4:41:56 GMT -8
I believe the Vancouver did two unscheduled round trips today on Route 1. At least they added some capacity. This was confirmed by the actual departures page and also by another member in another thread as well. That notwithstanding, there were still some severe waits again, mainly Rte1 westbound and Rte2 eastbound. Commercial vehicles had a hard day pretty well everywhere during the day (as far as I was able to check into about every 2 hours). Remember that THIS weekend is the US long weekend (Memorial Day) and even with the high Cdn Dollar, we'll still have lots of our funny-talking, monochrome-money carrying neighbo urs from the south up here. ;D |
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Post by Northern Exploration on May 25, 2007 4:56:55 GMT -8
Does the Alberni carry more trucks vs. cars then the other Ferries? If companies are reserving blocks and then cancelling them 31 minutes before departure - should the commercial cancelation time be an hour before sailing? In other words if you send trucks even though the ferries look to be full - do they get on? I suppose you also run the risk of paying drivers to sit for hours as well if they don't.
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Post by Alberta Bound on May 25, 2007 12:29:45 GMT -8
Pay the drivers to sit? I ran on and off the Island for about 2 years and never saw a cent. But stared to use the Coho, lot's of fun loading and unloding in Victoria but they would always try to fit you on.
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Post by kylefossett on May 26, 2007 10:46:41 GMT -8
alot of the truck companies i deal with are paid by the mile/kilometre depending on if they are canadian or american companies. sitting at a ferry terminal means the wheels are not turning. when the wheels don't turn it means you are not putting on any mileage. so that means no mileage no pay
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Post by Coastal Canuck on May 26, 2007 17:53:00 GMT -8
I went with Bowen because whenever I'm in a rush the ferry is always full, but when I'm not sometimes the ferry is only three quarters full
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Post by Retrovision on May 26, 2007 18:34:42 GMT -8
...There weren't any back up periods lately where there was a ship readily available for service. I am concerned, though, about how long some of these recent refits have been running thus limiting the number of vessels available. Take this totally unrelated example to help make my point: Almost the entire length of Tsawwassen's main drag, 56th St., was paved during an election year with atleast 1/4 (maybe 1/3rd) of all work being done during overtime-pay hours and it was completed in significantly less time than it would otherwise take. If you want a vessel to be ready on time, especially one as modern as the Oaky, then it's almost always possible, only constrained by the ammount of money you want to spend. |
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