BCFS Capital Plan: April 2014 to March 2026
Dec 6, 2017 17:56:56 GMT -8
Cascadian Transport likes this
Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 6, 2017 17:56:56 GMT -8
BCFS CEO Mark Collins mentions various interesting future capital projects in this interview with the Vancouver Sun:
from HERE
Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal to get $250-million overhaul
Patrick JohnstonPATRICK JOHNSTON
Published on: December 5, 2017 | Last Updated: December 5, 2017 6:34 PM PST
With the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo run as popular as ever and population estimates showing an explosion in future demand on the Langdale service, B.C. Ferries is set to propose a $250-million project to rebuild the West Vancouver terminal while also hoping to avoid fare increases.
In a wide-ranging discussion Tuesday with the editorial board of The Vancouver Sun and Province, B.C. Ferries CEO Mark Collins admitted “we’ve got a serious infrastructure challenge at Horseshoe Bay.”
“It’s maxed out … we need to do something.”
Collins called the Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay service one of three “star performers” run by B.C. Ferries, generating a huge slice of the company’s revenues. (The two major services running from Tsawwassen are the other “stars.”)
Focusing on improving service there makes sense, but the reality of expected population growth on the Sunshine Coast is also driving this expansion plan.
“We need more sailings to Langdale,” Collins said and also indicated there are plans to build two new ferries for the Sunshine Coast run on top of the $250-million proposed project.
The Sunshine Coast has not been pleased with service, he said, and “we recognize that.”
Work on the new terminal would hopefully begin within the next five years. The parking lots were built in the 1980s and modified just over a decade ago; the berths themselves are from the 1960s and still have manual components in docking and unloading that cause delays not found at B.C. Ferries’ other terminals.
B.C. Ferries will begin consultations with the public in the new year and the proposals still needs regulator and board approval. The project would be paid for through a bond issue.
Collins also said that expanding service on the Tsawwassen to Duke Point route was a priority, as it would take pressure off Horseshoe Bay.
“That’s where the major growth can happen,” he said.
B.C. Ferries is headed for its busiest year ever, he said, with 2017 set to surpass 2005. Over the summer, the Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen route ran at 97 per cent capacity, a number that was actually higher than B.C. Ferries like as it limits passenger choice.
New approaches to scheduling and pricing are being considered, with discounts potentially being offered for quieter times. This summer, 6 a.m. sailings were scheduled for the first time since 2005, and they were priced at a discount.
“We want an affordable ferry system built to last,” he said. “We know the fare payers feel it’s too expensive already.”
Collins said the future of the fleet and the impacts of climate change were at the front of mind every day. Many berths are already being pushed to their operational limits by rising sea levels and so are being rebuilt to be floating docks as opposed to fixed to the seabed.
And a new diesel-electric hybrid ferry is expected to be in service by 2020; the new ship will cut fuel costs by 20 per cent.
And further in the future, Collins saw the possibility for all-electric transport. Two ferries are running in Sweden on 100 per cent electric power and Collins said the biggest thing preventing similar technology in B.C.’s waterways was getting “more electricity on the waterfront.”
“We’re really watching this.”
pjohnston@postmedia.com
Patrick JohnstonPATRICK JOHNSTON
Published on: December 5, 2017 | Last Updated: December 5, 2017 6:34 PM PST
With the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo run as popular as ever and population estimates showing an explosion in future demand on the Langdale service, B.C. Ferries is set to propose a $250-million project to rebuild the West Vancouver terminal while also hoping to avoid fare increases.
In a wide-ranging discussion Tuesday with the editorial board of The Vancouver Sun and Province, B.C. Ferries CEO Mark Collins admitted “we’ve got a serious infrastructure challenge at Horseshoe Bay.”
“It’s maxed out … we need to do something.”
Collins called the Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay service one of three “star performers” run by B.C. Ferries, generating a huge slice of the company’s revenues. (The two major services running from Tsawwassen are the other “stars.”)
Focusing on improving service there makes sense, but the reality of expected population growth on the Sunshine Coast is also driving this expansion plan.
“We need more sailings to Langdale,” Collins said and also indicated there are plans to build two new ferries for the Sunshine Coast run on top of the $250-million proposed project.
The Sunshine Coast has not been pleased with service, he said, and “we recognize that.”
Work on the new terminal would hopefully begin within the next five years. The parking lots were built in the 1980s and modified just over a decade ago; the berths themselves are from the 1960s and still have manual components in docking and unloading that cause delays not found at B.C. Ferries’ other terminals.
B.C. Ferries will begin consultations with the public in the new year and the proposals still needs regulator and board approval. The project would be paid for through a bond issue.
Collins also said that expanding service on the Tsawwassen to Duke Point route was a priority, as it would take pressure off Horseshoe Bay.
“That’s where the major growth can happen,” he said.
B.C. Ferries is headed for its busiest year ever, he said, with 2017 set to surpass 2005. Over the summer, the Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen route ran at 97 per cent capacity, a number that was actually higher than B.C. Ferries like as it limits passenger choice.
New approaches to scheduling and pricing are being considered, with discounts potentially being offered for quieter times. This summer, 6 a.m. sailings were scheduled for the first time since 2005, and they were priced at a discount.
“We want an affordable ferry system built to last,” he said. “We know the fare payers feel it’s too expensive already.”
Collins said the future of the fleet and the impacts of climate change were at the front of mind every day. Many berths are already being pushed to their operational limits by rising sea levels and so are being rebuilt to be floating docks as opposed to fixed to the seabed.
And a new diesel-electric hybrid ferry is expected to be in service by 2020; the new ship will cut fuel costs by 20 per cent.
And further in the future, Collins saw the possibility for all-electric transport. Two ferries are running in Sweden on 100 per cent electric power and Collins said the biggest thing preventing similar technology in B.C.’s waterways was getting “more electricity on the waterfront.”
“We’re really watching this.”
pjohnston@postmedia.com
from HERE
)
