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Post by hwy19man on Jul 21, 2016 19:21:50 GMT -8
Route 1 from TSA for the 2100h sailing is full and that happened at 1920h! It is surprising that the New West is not doing a special 2000h sailing.
The 2015h from TSA on route 30 is also full and has been for the past hour. The 2245h is also at capacity for overheight traffic.
The only hope for island bound vehicles is route 2, the 2130h from HSB is only at 33% capacity.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 21, 2016 19:34:21 GMT -8
The Spirits are twenty minutes behind schedule. The Quinsam and Howe Sound are 43 and 26 minutes behind schedule.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 22, 2016 16:28:01 GMT -8
It is very busy on all three major routes heading to Vancouver Island. There are 3 waits for all traffic at HSB and TSA on route 1. Route 30 also has 3 waits for overheights and two waits for underheights. I would not be surprised to see the Cowichan do an additional round trip at 2105h/2305h since truck traffic is full on route 30.
Heading to the mainland, route 1 has two waits and just one wait on routes 2 and 30.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 22, 2016 19:46:01 GMT -8
Route 2 stayed busy from HSB as the final sailing at 2130h is full. On route 30 from TSA, underheight traffic is at 75% for the 2245h. Route 1 is at 70% capacity for the 2200h sailing.
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 22, 2016 20:55:29 GMT -8
It is very busy on all three major routes heading to Vancouver Island. There are 3 waits for all traffic at HSB and TSA on route 1. Route 30 also has 3 waits for overheights and two waits for underheights. I would not be surprised to see the Cowichan do an additional round trip at 2105h/2305h since truck traffic is full on route 30.
Heading to the mainland, route 1 has two waits and just one wait on routes 2 and 30. See this from Global BC: globalnews.ca/news/2843225/bc-ferries-urges-patience-as-massive-lineups-cause-3-sailing-waits/?sf31577093=1I understand that people in vehicles with reservations have been 'stuck' in line & unable to 'claim' their reservation by the cut-off time. Question: When there is a line up of cars (see photos on the hyper-linked article above) running all the way back to the end of the causeway how does BC Ferries manage the traffic such that those with reservations are able to drive around the lined up vehicles (for people w/o reservations) and get to the ticket both so as to 'claim' their reservation by the required time? How is this managed at other major terminals? Can the situation be readily improved?
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jul 22, 2016 21:40:39 GMT -8
It is very busy on all three major routes heading to Vancouver Island. There are 3 waits for all traffic at HSB and TSA on route 1. Route 30 also has 3 waits for overheights and two waits for underheights. I would not be surprised to see the Cowichan do an additional round trip at 2105h/2305h since truck traffic is full on route 30.
Heading to the mainland, route 1 has two waits and just one wait on routes 2 and 30. See this from Global BC: globalnews.ca/news/2843225/bc-ferries-urges-patience-as-massive-lineups-cause-3-sailing-waits/?sf31577093=1I understand that people in vehicles with reservations have been 'stuck' in line & unable to 'claim' their reservation by the cut-off time. Question: When there is a line up of cars (see photos on the hyper-linked article above) running all the way back to the end of the causeway how does BC Ferries manage the traffic such that those with reservations are able to drive around the lined up vehicles (for people w/o reservations) and get to the ticket both so as to 'claim' their reservation by the required time? How is this managed at other major terminals? Can the situation be readily improved? What Darren Guenette says was also what I was told by a Tsawwassen ticket agent when I asked that question; the tower staff observe who arrives at the end of the lineup by the half hour cut-off. What Guenette doesn't tell us is what happens at the very busiest times when the lineup is so long that its not humanly possible to get the reserved traffic on board- do people get their money back? Getting on the next sailing is not what you paid for.
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Post by Scott on Jul 23, 2016 8:39:21 GMT -8
Question: When there is a line up of cars (see photos on the hyper-linked article above) running all the way back to the end of the causeway how does BC Ferries manage the traffic such that those with reservations are able to drive around the lined up vehicles (for people w/o reservations) and get to the ticket both so as to 'claim' their reservation by the required time? How is this managed at other major terminals? Can the situation be readily improved? When sailings are busy at Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay, there are always flaggers out on the streets before the terminals, asking people if they have reservations. At Departure Bay they have them as you're coming down the hill... if you have reservations you can go into the terminal, if you don't you go park in the lineup on the street. This is a common enough occurrence that they have a system set up that seems to work. Traffic can get backed up the hill, but it moves. I wouldn't wait until the last minute if I had reservations. At Horseshoe Bay they have quite a large "holding area" outside the terminal before the toll booths and flaggers, I think, are usually there to direct reservations to one lane, and others to another. I'm not sure if traffic has backed up onto the highway past the offramp in recent years since they expanded the terminal and the area before the terminal. Would flaggers just keep moving up the line as it gets longer? I don't think I've ever seen flaggers directing traffic before the toll booths at Tsawwassen before. Maybe I just haven't gone through there at busy times. There are two lanes heading out to the terminal... it would be as simple as having reservations use "lane 2" and non-reservations use "lane 1". But you need people on top of it. Otherwise you get people trying to cut ahead and it quickly devolves into a mess. Like downtown Vancouver during a bad rush hour. Sometimes I wish there were traffic cops down there at some intersections keeping traffic and pedestrians in control! - John H
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 24, 2016 17:13:54 GMT -8
From the link. “The counterflow at the end of the weekend is usually from Vancouver Island.”
That is not happening this weekend as there have been two waits since 1100h from TSA on route 1. From SWB it has been just one wait for most of the afternoon with two waits starting at 1730h. Route 2 has had one wait at both terminals since 1200h.
There have been zero sailing waits on route 3 and zero to one wait on route 30.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 28, 2016 20:25:48 GMT -8
Here it is, the busiest summer weekend and it is definitely busy!
Route 1 at both terminals have had two waits for most of the day and the 2100h sailing has been full on both sides since 1930h. The Queen of New Westminster is doing a MD 2000h/2200h round trip and was at 100% capacity from TSA. The 2200h trip from SWB is currently at 86% capacity.
This quote is from their twitter page,
So much for the through fare option the BCF also posted on twitter.
I think BCF seriously missed the boat by not having the Coastal Celebration doing the MD round tip instead.
Route 2 has had one to waits on both sides and the 1930h sailings were full. The 2130h from HSB is at 82% capacity and from Dep. Bay it is at 67% capacity. The Queen of Cowichan is forty minutes behind schedule and the Oak Bay is fifty minutes behind. Both vessels have had twitter and service notices posted about their delays.
Route 30 from TSA since 1441h has had three waits for overheight traffic.
Since 1730h, the 2245h was full for overheight vehicles and is currently at 84% capacity for underheights. From Duke Point, overheights have had one wait and the final sailing is also full. Both sides have been busy since Monday for overheights with all sailings full except for Tuesday night from Duke Point. The Alberni is also forty minutes behind schedule.
Route 3 has been fairly punctual all day with only one wait earlier on.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 28, 2016 20:43:01 GMT -8
Quick update, overheights are now full at Dep. Bay for the final sailing on route 2.
The 2200h sailing at SWB is now at 73% capacity.
Route 30 from TSA did fill up for underheights on the 2245h.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 29, 2016 19:28:17 GMT -8
It has been another busy Friday for the long weekend. Routes 1 and 30 from TSA have had 3 waits since 930h this morning. The three waits continued until 1800h with the final sailings from TSA at 50% and 80% capicity respectively. It has been much quieter from SWB and Duke Point than it was yesterday, a maximum of one wait at those terminals. The Alberni is about 30 minutes behind schedule and the Spirit vessels are 20-25 minutes behind and have been all week.
Route 2 has had one to two waits from HSB all day and a maximum of one wait from Dep. Bay. The Cowichan is doing a MD round trip at 2105h and 2305h. The 2305h sailing is already at 40% capacity!
Route 3 had two waits from HSB all morning and continued with one wait until the 1835h sailing.
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Mayne
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I come from a long line of sinners like me
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Post by Mayne on Jul 29, 2016 21:31:25 GMT -8
It has been another busy Friday for the long weekend. Routes 1 and 30 from TSA have had 3 waits since 930h this morning. The three waits continued until 1800h with the final sailings from TSA at 50% and 80% capicity respectively. It has been much quieter from SWB and Duke Point than it was yesterday, a maximum of one wait at those terminals. The Alberni is about 30 minutes behind schedule and the Spirit vessels are 20-25 minutes behind and have been all week.
Route 2 has had one to two waits from HSB all day and a maximum of one wait from Dep. Bay. The Cowichan is doing a MD round trip at 2105h and 2305h. The 2305h sailing is already at 40% capacity!
Route 3 had two waits from HSB all morning and continued with one wait until the 1835h sailing.
So did BC Ferries miss the boat today or not so much??
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 29, 2016 21:41:29 GMT -8
Last sailings of the night.
The 2305h from HSB on route 2 is nearing 60% capacity and the 2130h sailing from HSB departed at 90% capacity. The special 2105h from Dep. Bay was 47% full and took most of the traffic from the regular 2135h sailing which left with only a 12% load. Two thumbs up for BCF for doing the MD sailing on route 2.
The 2245h on route 30 from TSA is full for overheights and at 83% overall. From Duke Point it is 75% for overheights and 17% for underheights.
The 2235h on route 3 from HSB is at 50% capacity.
The 2200h on route 1 from TSA departed at 62% capacity, from SWB it was 31%.
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 1, 2016 19:40:48 GMT -8
Saturday was busy with traffic heading to the island on all three routes with two waits in the morning and early afternoon. Route 2 from HSB had full sailings except for the final sailing at 2130h, it was at approximately 80% capacity.
Sunday was moderate with just one wait on the major routes until the late afternoon.
For Monday, it is surprising that route 2 went on a Monday schedule with the Cowichan doing the 745h/955h round trip instead of the Sunday schedule. It has been obviously busy from Dep. Bay and the final sailing is full. There is no 2105h/2305h sailing despite one to two waits through out the afternoon and evening!
Route 30 has had one wait from Duke Point since mid-afternoon and the last sailing is at 80% capacity. The difference is that there are less overheight vehicles and the stats on the current conditions page show that underheight traffic is filling up faster, that is rare on this route.
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Post by landlubber on Aug 2, 2016 6:07:03 GMT -8
Maybe it's just a glitch in the data being received from the Coastal Inspiration this morning.. but it otherwise appears that the CI has diverted off course on it's first run of the day to Tsawwassen and is now nearly at a dead stop not far off of Valdes Island.
Edit 48 minutes later. Wasn't a glitch. CI now appears to be proceeding directly to Tsawwassen after it's diversion. Going to be about 50 minutes late in arrival.
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 2, 2016 7:21:49 GMT -8
Edit 48 minutes later. Wasn't a glitch. CI now appears to be proceeding directly to Tsawwassen after it's diversion. Going to be about 50 minutes late in arrival. According to a BCFS 'Service Notice' the Canadian Coast Guard asked BC Ferries for assistance. No details re the nature of that assistance were provided.
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 2, 2016 16:11:32 GMT -8
Edit 48 minutes later. Wasn't a glitch. CI now appears to be proceeding directly to Tsawwassen after it's diversion. Going to be about 50 minutes late in arrival. According to a BCFS 'Service Notice' the Canadian Coast Guard asked BC Ferries for assistance. No details re the nature of that assistance were provided. Here is a link, vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-ferry-to-nanaimo-delayed-by-marine-rescue
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 2, 2016 16:19:48 GMT -8
It is a busy Tuesday on the major routes as there are three waits in both directions on route 30 for overheight traffic! That means the last sailing is already full and that was at 1615h according to the BCF current conditions page.
Route 3 added a round trip for the Coquitlam at 1230h/1335h.
Route 2 will have to take all that extra truck traffic and there are already two waits at Dep. Bay and one wait at HSB.
Route 1 has had one or two waits at both terminals all day.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Aug 2, 2016 17:46:59 GMT -8
Ferries busy and fast... according to the departures page, the 'New Westminster did a route one crossing today in 80 minutes, and the 'Inspiration did a route thirty in one hour and forty three minutes, probably attempting to make up time after the marine emergency. I'd love to see what the spike in fuel consumption was for that. I guess BC Ferries gives its officers more leeway with speed when things are very busy- I've noticed that even the Kahloke regularly hits nine knots this time of year, where during the off season six is more the norm.
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 2, 2016 18:03:20 GMT -8
Ferries busy and fast... according to the departures page, the 'New Westminster did a route one crossing today in 80 minutes, and the 'Inspiration did a route thirty in one hour and forty three minutes, probably attempting to make up time after the marine emergency. I'd love to see what the spike in fuel consumption was for that. I guess BC Ferries gives its officers more leeway with speed when things are very busy- I've noticed that even the Kahloke regularly hits nine knots this time of year, where during the off season six is more the norm. That is correct Neil. The NW left SWB at 1605h and arrived at TSA at 1725h. The vessel did the same crossing in 86 minutes four hours earlier. The CC also did the crossing in 85 minutes leaving SWB at 1414h and leaving TSA at 1612h. I recall a coastal vessel did the route 30 crossing in 100 minutes a few years ago.
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 2, 2016 18:22:53 GMT -8
Its worth remembering that when the Alberni was first placed on route 1 back in the mid 1970's is scheduled crossing time was 75 minutes. The unlifted 'V's at that time were scheduled at 100 minutes.
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 2, 2016 20:17:13 GMT -8
Route 2 from Dep. Bay has filled up. The overheight traffic filled up the last sailing there. The route 30 info for the 2245h sailing has fluctuated from my previous post and it currently shows 98% and has now maxed out for trucks at TSA and is at 93% capacity at Duke Point. Truck traffic has spilled over to route 1 departing from TSA, it is at 76% capacity for the 2100h sailing and the 2000h did fill up.
The Coquitlam is 33 minutes behind with a service notice on it and the final sailing from Langdale is at 50% capacity and all the previous sailings were all filled up.
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Post by hwy19man on Aug 3, 2016 20:12:59 GMT -8
Once again, route 30 from Duke Point had two waits for overheights and the last sailing at 2245h was full since 1900h (from TSA it is at 85% capacity). Truck traffic filled up the 1930h sailing on route 2 at Dep. Bay and the 2130h is at 70% capacity for trucks.
Route 1 had one wait most of the day in both directions. The 2100h has both terminals showing 71% capacity overall. The difference is that TSA has 72% capacity for trucks while SWB is at 47%.
The Oak Bay is running 30 minutes late with a service notice issued.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Aug 3, 2016 22:20:17 GMT -8
This 'ferries busy' thread is kind of meaningless if all we're doing is reporting that, hey, there are overloads. Or maybe it's best if a discussion of the numbers is carried on elsewhere. But, anyway, I'll just throw this observation out here, for now.
Route thirty has had some rather nasty waits this year... as in the 8:15pm sailing being close to capacity very early in the afternoon. Traffic is growing at 7%, and growth in actual AEQ figures, this year over last, exceed that of route two, despite there being far more sailings on route two over the course of a year.
There are no plans that I'm aware of to ever increase the sailings on route thirty. They have no vessels that they could use. But it seems clear that if traffic patterns and the waits that people are experiencing continue, the Duke Point run will become very problematic in peak season with sailings only every 2 1/2 hours. Duke Point is a massive terminal property. It was clearly set up with an eye to expanding capacity. I think that time is approaching.
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Post by bigcountry on Aug 9, 2016 7:03:15 GMT -8
Could the easiest solution be replacing the Alberni with a bigger vessel?
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