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Post by Dane on Aug 12, 2009 15:46:40 GMT -8
Hey, I've taken the Coastal Link!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 15, 2009 15:50:35 GMT -8
New schedule announced on the Coastal-Link webpage: www.coastallinkferries.com/index.php?p=ferry_servicesCurrently, their webpage schedule shows 3 trips each week-day, each way. So they will decrease from 3 to 1. The webpage doesn't specify if this new schedule is 7-days-per-week or just Monday-Friday. I'm guessing it's just Monday-Friday, with no weekend sailings.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Sept 15, 2009 21:38:31 GMT -8
Two of their six sailings were essentially deadhead- completely empty- and the other four were carrying, from what I was told, between six and fifteen customers. GIWT has also cut a couple of runs. Amazing that almost a year into this experiment, both companies are still operating.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 19, 2009 10:48:59 GMT -8
www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/10/19/bc-west-vancouver-downtown-bowen-ferry.html Downtown ferry mulled by West VancouverWest Vancouver residents may soon be able to hop a ferry into downtown Vancouver if a new proposal gets the green light from councillors on Monday night. Ihab Shaker, who set up the 70-passenger Coastal Link ferry route between Bowen Island and the Bute Street Dock in downtown Vancouver's Coal Harbour is proposing to have the vessel stop at the Ambleside Pier at the foot of 14th Street in West Vancouver during its daily run. "I am just offering an alternative. A more environmentally friendly alternative," Shaker told CBC News. On Monday night the District of West Vancouver municipal council will debate the proposal. But the idea already has the support of Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, who said it makes sense from the perspective of heritage, transportation, and sustainability. "I think the fact you can get to the Convention Centre, on a ferry, for $5 from West Vancouver is a big step in the right direction," said Goldsmith-Jones. If the plan is approved at council, the service could be up and running by November. The Bowen Island ferry currently makes one round trip per day Monday to Friday, departing Bowen Island at 7 a.m. PT and Vancouver at 5 p.m. on the 35-minute run. The first ferry service to West Vancouver was started in 1866 by Welsh settler and entrepreneur John Thomas, who used a rowboat to transport Vancouver residents from Gastown to Ambleside for summer camping trips. Ferry service continued in various forms until the 1940s, when the Lions Gate Bridge put it out of commission.
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Post by lmtengs on Oct 19, 2009 15:01:07 GMT -8
Ferry service continued in various forms until the 1940s, when the Lions Gate Bridge put it out of commission. Those ferries didn't stop operating until 1958, not "the 1940s"... check your facts, CBC!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 19, 2009 17:12:52 GMT -8
Ferry service continued in various forms until the 1940s, when the Lions Gate Bridge put it out of commission. Those ferries didn't stop operating until 1958, not "the 1940s"... check your facts, CBC! North Vancouver Ferries ran its service for North Vancouver until 1958. Presumably that's the 1958 that Mr. Tengs is referring to. The Coastal Link story is about West Vancouver and the comment about service until the 1940's is referring to West Vancouver.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Oct 19, 2009 17:27:15 GMT -8
Ihab made the CTV News today. Good publicity, and since he has now outlasted GIWT, this move to serve West Van makes sense. He claims to be operating in the black. Could it be, that all us doubters will be proved wrong?
("Never!!", shouts Billable Hours, from his dreary exile...)
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Post by Scott on Oct 19, 2009 22:52:33 GMT -8
Here's the News1130 article: www.news1130.com/news/local/more.jsp?content=20091020_020629_9988"Ease congestion and reduce emissions" From what I can tell, all they're talking about is making a pit stop at Ambleside on the way in during the morning commute and one on the way back to Bowen Island in the afternoon. It's hardly a resumption of a West Vancouver - Downtown ferry! It may be good for a handful of people who live in the Ambleside area and work downtown, although it's hard to compete against the Blue Bus that doesn't take much longer and takes you to much more central destinations.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 20, 2009 4:10:17 GMT -8
Ihab made the CTV News today. Good publicity, and since he has now outlasted GIWT, this move to serve West Van makes sense. He claims to be operating in the black. Could it be, that all us doubters will be proved wrong? Cough, cough...maybe "Midnight Red"? ;D
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Post by Retrovision on Oct 20, 2009 6:10:11 GMT -8
From: www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/10/19/bc-west-vancouver-downtown-bowen-ferry.htmlCanwest Global is reporting this morning that the fare will be $4 one way and $7 return, for the first month, and take 10 minutes. I haven't gone through our archives to see if it's been mentioned, but it seems that this will be part of the Bowen Island run for those trips. I wonder how Bowen Islanders will react to the lessening of their elbow room for that leg of the journey; I wonder if they'll feel something like us passengers of the '601 South Delta' before the Canada Line when we were given the burden of the ferry passengers for half our trip to and from Vancouver without frequency compensation (Which has turned from injury to insult after enduring this only to have our sister route (The 351) doubled in frequency and us left wondering why it was that we tolerated what we thought was a stop-gap placement of volume in the first place, but that's a whole other can of worms)... That's just the price of progress is the only real healthy answer, I've come to learn and is my advice for them to keep in mind. - I find it interesting (with no opinion attached, however) that the same anti-competition laws that shield TransLink from private companies unduly using their corporate dollars to compete with the public dollars of a public service by operating a similar and/or parallel service within TransLink's operating area don't apply to the water apparently. Of course the province (TransLink would be the operator, but it would only come to fruition with adequate funding by the province) has dragged their heels on implementing ferry service for so long that I'll be the last one to complain about Coastal Link Ferries nudging in on TransLink's territory.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 20, 2009 7:17:06 GMT -8
The Bowen Islanders will only be inconvenienced for space if the boat is quite full. We don't really know how many people ride the service...that is from a reliable third party source. Supermarket companies routinely have customer counters walk through the competition to count how many people are shopping at key times. Airlines routinely have employees count how many passengers get on a competitors flight at the gate. Restaurants do the same. I would imagine BC Ferries has an idea how many use the service. Pay a marina worker a few coins each day to do a rough count and there you have an idea. I don't check the Bowen Forum anymore now that the fireworks has stopped, but I am sure a regular on the trip might also comment as to how many use the service.
As I have said before I still think there is a place for a dependable Water Taxi/Passenger Ferry service beyond the SeaBus in the lower mainland. A safe, comfortable (ahem meaning warm), all weather and economical ship would be a good alternative to the bridges, especially when accidents cause havoc. At some point in the future the volume may become such that it is the only option to beat the bottle necks of the bridges.
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Post by Retrovision on Oct 20, 2009 7:55:21 GMT -8
The Bowen Islanders will only be inconvenienced for space if the boat is quite full. Of course, and also this is a private company, which I always expect would take passenger comfort into account to a level one hundred times greater than a public service such as TransLink; given the build it and they will come notion, a private company will far quicker and far more readily expand capacity, etc., given an upturn in demand. Additionally, the example that I gave of the buses was quite tainted by poor management of limited resources and comes with a long history behind it so there is no real direct comparison meant, just a loose similarity. So the West Vancouver service right now is a stop on the Bowen island route? If I recall correctly the info given by Canwest Global this morning, in the morning three trips will depart West Van - at 7, 7:30 and 8 - and two will return in the evening - 5 and 5:30 I think - so presumably the West Van trips will be paired with the Bowen Island trips only for one of the departures per direction, if they stay with something similar to their current Bowen Island schedule: www.coastallinkferries.com/index.php?p=ferry_services
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 20, 2009 8:19:54 GMT -8
The Bowen Islanders will only be inconvenienced for space if the boat is quite full. Of course, and also this is a private company, which I always expect would take passenger comfort into account to a level one hundred times greater than a public service such as TransLink; I deign to be tactless, but...HAHAHAHA...seriously, this apparently has been one of the issues with this particular operator, the lack of consideration for customer comfort. And an investigation of the principal operating this particular company may lead you to a similar conclusion. I'd be interested to see how they are planning to route this...already I see a revised schedule for Bowen if this is what they plan...or just as likely, Bowen is now to be abandoned in favour of a "new" run...
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 20, 2009 8:33:45 GMT -8
Claims of operating in the black can be difficult to prove or disprove when it is a private not a public company. Questions such as whether all payments are current or behind, whether wages have been paid, whether investors have been paid on schedule, all come into play. It is entirely possible to not pay all obligations or push them into other months or ignore them all together, are all possible to make the claim a service has run a particular month in the black. Then of course a business can claim all sorts of things and not necessarily have one shred of proof.
That is what auditors are for. The delve into the books and come up with determinations of what the actual financial state the company is in. If the whole company is in the black and running on a very stable basis that is a very different thing. Questions such as whether the owner is paying himself a reasonable salary, all payments are up to date, wages are paid and back issues settled, investors satisfied are all clear are answered by such an audit.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Oct 20, 2009 12:44:07 GMT -8
Retro must have missed my earlier posts on this topic. I've taken the Coastal Runner to Bowen three times, and talked to the operator and some of the passengers. I can assure him that your average transit bus is warmer, quieter, more comfortable, and more professionally finished than the CLF vessel. It is definitely a bare bones operation, though it has proved to be dependable in the limited scope of its operations.
There is no issue regarding Bowen Islanders being crowded out. When I last rode, they were carrying, regularly, fewer than twenty passengers, sometimes considerably fewer. Apparently they will be adding Ambleside to their existing one round trip, and adding another trip just for West Van.
Regarding Paul's comment about a cruise, the Coastal Runner is pretty spartan. As I said, noisy, basic bench seating, no air conditioning and very little heat, so that on a rainy cold day the windows fog up, totally obscuring your vision.
I'm going to do another trip after they get started with their Ambleside stop, and combine it with a stop for dinner at Tuscany in Snug Cove, and then come back on the 'Capilano. No GIWT option anymore. I'll let you know if business has improved.
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 21, 2009 5:00:36 GMT -8
I'd be interested to know how the following scenarios would be handled:
1. Weather is too rough for the vessel to run. Who is going to inform the passengers waiting at Ambleside that their ship ain't comin' in? I hope they have iPhones or Blackberries to check the website.
2. Similar situation, but this time, lack of passengers...I'm thinking mostly of the two runs to Amberside after the initial morning run...will lack of passengers at one terminus result in a cancellation of a trip given there may be passengers waiting at the other?
3. Now on to what is presently a farfetched scenario...what happens if the vessel reaches capacity at Bowen...will the vessel just abandon the Ambleside stop and divert directly to Bute Street? Additionally, will an extra run be added, if required, to transport all the passengers waiting at Ambleside even if it means deadheading from Bute Street to Ambleside?
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 21, 2009 6:53:06 GMT -8
I'd be interested to know how the following scenarios would be handled: 1. Weather is too rough for the vessel to run. Who is going to inform the passengers waiting at Ambleside that their ship ain't comin' in? I hope they have iPhones or Blackberries to check the website. 2. Similar situation, but this time, lack of passengers...I'm thinking mostly of the two runs to Amberside after the initial morning run...will lack of passengers at one terminus result in a cancellation of a trip given there may be passengers waiting at the other? 3. Now on to what is presently a farfetched scenario...what happens if the vessel reaches capacity at Bowen...will the vessel just abandon the Ambleside stop and divert directly to Bute Street? Additionally, will an extra run be added, if required, to transport all the passengers waiting at Ambleside even if it means deadheading from Bute Street to Ambleside? Farfetched . Ambleside is a relatively short hop from Coal Harbour at least. So a quick additional round trip would be easy after the initial run, if the Ambleside option proves popular. However, if for some shocking reason the boat is full, making people wait for the Runner to come back to pick them up after disgorging their Bowen passengers, ruins any time savings and convenience. Convenience and time saving is what would make people convert from their existing routes. Laying on the roof is one option. From reports it maybe only a little less comfortable then inside - just joking . If it was Jordan he could try skiing behind as well.
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 21, 2009 7:29:23 GMT -8
I'd be interested to know how the following scenarios would be handled: 1. Weather is too rough for the vessel to run. Who is going to inform the passengers waiting at Ambleside that their ship ain't comin' in? I hope they have iPhones or Blackberries to check the website. 2. Similar situation, but this time, lack of passengers...I'm thinking mostly of the two runs to Amberside after the initial morning run...will lack of passengers at one terminus result in a cancellation of a trip given there may be passengers waiting at the other? 3. Now on to what is presently a farfetched scenario...what happens if the vessel reaches capacity at Bowen...will the vessel just abandon the Ambleside stop and divert directly to Bute Street? Additionally, will an extra run be added, if required, to transport all the passengers waiting at Ambleside even if it means deadheading from Bute Street to Ambleside? Farfetched . Ambleside is a relatively short hop from Coal Harbour at least. So a quick additional round trip would be easy after the initial run, if the Ambleside option proves popular. However, if for some shocking reason the boat is full, making people wait for the Runner to come back to pick them up after disgorging their Bowen passengers, ruins any time savings and convenience. Convenience and time saving is what would make people convert from their existing routes. Laying on the roof is one option. From reports it maybe only a little less comfortable then inside - just joking . If it was Jordan he could try skiing behind as well. At least you wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep...
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Oct 21, 2009 10:02:49 GMT -8
I'd be interested to know how the following scenarios would be handled: 1. Weather is too rough for the vessel to run. Who is going to inform the passengers waiting at Ambleside that their ship ain't comin' in? I hope they have iPhones or Blackberries to check the website. Probably not that big a deal, as the bus is close by. From what I understand, they've missed very few runs due to weather. 2. Similar situation, but this time, lack of passengers...I'm thinking mostly of the two runs to Amberside after the initial morning run...will lack of passengers at one terminus result in a cancellation of a trip given there may be passengers waiting at the other? GIWT got around this problem by having people reserve, and cancelling sailings they had no reservations for. CLF probably won't do that, so they'll have to sail. When they were on their three a day summer schedule, some return runs were essentially deadhead, with no passengers. 3. Now on to what is presently a farfetched scenario...what happens if the vessel reaches capacity at Bowen...will the vessel just abandon the Ambleside stop and divert directly to Bute Street? Additionally, will an extra run be added, if required, to transport all the passengers waiting at Ambleside even if it means deadheading from Bute Street to Ambleside? They are never, ever full when leaving Bowen- not even close. Their passenger load has grown only marginally since they started a year ago. It will be very interesting to see how many people they pick up at Ambleside, as I don't think it's been tried by anyone in the last sixty-something years.
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 21, 2009 10:17:50 GMT -8
3. Now on to what is presently a farfetched scenario...what happens if the vessel reaches capacity at Bowen...will the vessel just abandon the Ambleside stop and divert directly to Bute Street? Additionally, will an extra run be added, if required, to transport all the passengers waiting at Ambleside even if it means deadheading from Bute Street to Ambleside? They are never, ever full when leaving Bowen- not even close. Their passenger load has grown only marginally since they started a year ago. It will be very interesting to see how many people they pick up at Ambleside, as I don't think it's been tried by anyone in the last sixty-something years.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Oct 21, 2009 10:26:38 GMT -8
... presently a farfetched scenario... Yes, I saw that, Mr Smartypants. By the way, CLF- and Ihab- figured prominently in the dinner time news broadcasts again yesterday, as well as on the radio. It's no exaggeration to say that they've got more publicity in the last two days than in the previous year. All for adding what will be no more than a bus load of people from West Van to downtown. And they didn't even have to pay Peter Green to do it, which is something that I'm sure the thrifty Captain is reflecting on.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 21, 2009 10:46:29 GMT -8
High jinks,alluding, hinting and fun asside for just a moment.
I have friends who live near Duchess a couple of blocks away from the pier, and ones who live further over on Harwood just up from the Dundarave restaurant. Neither commute mind you. One couple are my age and one my parents age. Both would use the service if it was regular.
One who are retired and very strong arts supporters, said if it ran in the late afternoon evening it would be worth it to save the parking and traffic. They would never take the bus over. The other couple as well travel off peak times. They always schedule meetings for late morning or early afternoon when they can and again won't take the bus into the city but would a water taxi. They readily subway in other cities they visit and the one has used the water taxis/ferries in NYC on my recommendation and loved it.
They both would use the service if it was convenient and was regular, however no one is contemplating anything close to that type of schedule at this point.
I have other friends who live on the last street below Grouse and that is where I often stay in the city. To avoid downtown traffic and parking they often drive to the Seabus and ride over to downtown. While the traffic in Vancouver frustrates me, I don't understand that one and don't see it as a regular thing I would do. They as well would never consider a bus. Since none of them would be considered transit geeks, I suppose it is a bus bias. I think there is an ingrained feeling from when they were younger when the car ruled and the bus was for if you couldn't afford a car. Especially maybe on the north shore. Ferries and water taxis seem to process differently in their mind. I wonder just how common that is.
We now return you to all manner of regularly scheduled silliness.
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Oct 21, 2009 10:48:02 GMT -8
... presently a farfetched scenario... Yes, I saw that, Mr Smartypants. By the way, CLF- and Ihab- figured prominently in the dinner time news broadcasts again yesterday, as well as on the radio. It's no exaggeration to say that they've got more publicity in the last two days than in the previous year. All for adding what will be no more than a bus load of people from West Van to downtown. And they didn't even have to pay Peter Green to do it, which is something that I'm sure the thrifty Captain is reflecting on. ...hmmm...maybe Shaker will use that to justify a raise for himself...(humming "Well, I'm back, back - (well) I'm back in black - Yes, I'm back in black" to self, with no clue as to why...)
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 21, 2009 11:33:44 GMT -8
... presently a farfetched scenario... Yes, I saw that, Mr Smartypants. By the way, CLF- and Ihab- figured prominently in the dinner time news broadcasts again yesterday, as well as on the radio. It's no exaggeration to say that they've got more publicity in the last two days than in the previous year. All for adding what will be no more than a bus load of people from West Van to downtown. And they didn't even have to pay Peter Green to do it, which is something that I'm sure the thrifty Captain is reflecting on. Maybe he has hired someone else or even a PR firm. Hopefully they asked for a generous deposit up front. Although once the ball is rolling, news outlets can fall over themselves to get something on air and not miss out the news cycle. The downside of more people being aware and noticing the service, is that any downfalls in service etc., will be noticed that much more. Beyond a quiet Bowen Island run, a few West Van people who get their noses out of joint will likely make a lot more noise. And news outlets might be more prone to pay attention.
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Post by Nickfro on Oct 21, 2009 16:26:56 GMT -8
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