B.C. ferry fares could skyrocket
djakeydd @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:25 am
People should just face the facts, the government would prefer people not travel, anywhere, just look at where fuel prices have gone in the past 2 months, and they are not gonna go back down. Look at the degradation and hassle you go through to fly as compared to pre 911. The plan is to keep ppl stuck in one place and ignorant of what is going on in their own back yard and elsewhere - why - thats another matter.
Brenda @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:56 am
What the hell are you smoking??
andyt @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:21 am
Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:
Yogi Yogi:
What are the rates now? In $$$$
Somewhere in the realm of outrageous.
But, all kidding aside, someone should take Hahn back to grade school and explain simple economics to him.
If you charge more than the market can bear, you go broke, but, if you charge a fair price for you're product you make money and stay in business because of volume.
Maybe someone could take him to Walmart or Costco so he could see this theory in action.
If only it were that simple, he wouldn't need a permanent subsidy from BC. The big routes could be self-supporting at reasonable prices, but then all the people using the little routes would be fucked. No more commuting between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay the way people do now, say. It's the same dilemma as the post system - to service the people in rural areas who need the service most, you have to charge a higher fee than if you just creamed the urban service.
martin14 @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:51 am
SprCForr SprCForr:
Bridge it.
Fuck no.
You find very little support for that on the Island,
no one wants to become another suburb of HongKouver.
SprCForr @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:59 am
Then raise the taxes on all the Island addresses.
Yet another reason why I could never be a politician... lol
andyt @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:13 pm
SprCForr SprCForr:
Then raise the taxes on all the Island addresses.
Yet another reason why I could never be a politician... lol
Yet another reason why I could never be a politician... lol
Do you really think there is more traffic from the Island than to the Island?
A bridge would also cost a whole whack of money, that would have to be recovered by tolls - probably cost more than the ferry. Unless of course we can get the feds to kick in for the bridge the way they did to that place that pretends to be a province - with all 140,000 people, just slightly more than Coquitlam. If you don't have a million residents, you're not a province.
Canadian_Mind @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:21 pm
I'd pay 50 bucks for a bridge toll if it meant I don't have to pay 100+ for a ferry.
SprCForr @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:22 pm
I was thinking of a grand Confederation Bridge style project for the west. Epic national construction project level.
Traffic to the Island is mostly to support those on the Island. Those on the Island can carry the increased cost of living on the Island and maintaining the status quo if they don't want a bridge.
SprCForr @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:24 pm
Canadian_Mind Canadian_Mind:
I'd pay 50 bucks for a bridge toll if it meant I don't have to pay 100+ for a ferry.
Better yet, drop it to $25 and cash in on the day trippers out for a car ride.
stokes @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:09 pm
A bridge to the island while possible is a horrible idea. We cant seem to sort the traffic issues we have now, can you imagine if our population grew because then people would be able to commute to Vancouver?
Or worse the cost of housing would sky rocket yet again as more people would move here from Vancouver driving our already unmanagable real estate out of reach for the average person.
Those of us who enjoy the island do not want to see our way of life ruined by a bridge.
The biggest issue with BC Ferries is a mismanagement of funds and unsustainable salaries and bonuses for the top 2% of employess!!...just my opinion
Canadian_Mind @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:21 pm
stokes stokes:
A bridge to the island while possible is a horrible idea. We cant seem to sort the traffic issues we have now, can you imagine if our population grew because then people would be able to commute to Vancouver?
Or worse the cost of housing would sky rocket yet again as more people would move here from Vancouver driving our already unmanagable real estate out of reach for the average person.
Those of us who enjoy the island do not want to see our way of life ruined by a bridge.
The biggest issue with BC Ferries is a mismanagement of funds and unsustainable salaries and bonuses for the top 2% of employess!!...just my opinion
Or worse the cost of housing would sky rocket yet again as more people would move here from Vancouver driving our already unmanagable real estate out of reach for the average person.
Those of us who enjoy the island do not want to see our way of life ruined by a bridge.
The biggest issue with BC Ferries is a mismanagement of funds and unsustainable salaries and bonuses for the top 2% of employess!!...just my opinion
Don't forget that a vast majority of the Islands economy comes from tourism. As Sapper suggested, we could cash in from the day trippers using a bridge.
Commuting to Vancouver from the Island would be like commuting to Vancouver from Chilliwack, regardless of where the bridge is built. A small portion of the population would, but you wont see people moving there in droves in order to work in Vancouver, while living somewhere else. I also don't think it would cause the population of the island to skyrocket. The population of the Island is already now over 800 000 and will likely be over 1 million in the next 5-10 years.
If we don't find a way to be able to provide goods and services for the population growth beyond the inadequate ferry services, then the cost of owning property will be the least of your concern when it pales to $2-$3/litre gasoline and meat being sold at the market for $10+ per pound.
bootlegga @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:43 pm
Yep, that always works at increasing ridership - higher fares!
bootlegga @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:45 pm
Brenda Brenda:
Isn't the Coquihalla highway part of the 1? Then I do. It's a toll road (or at least it used to be).
Nope, where the Coquihalla starts (just south of Kamloops) the TCH splits off and heads west.
http://transcanadahighway.com/bc/index.htm
SprCForr @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:54 pm
The Coq is Hwy 5. Hwy 1 is Fraser Canyon.
Damn, now I wanna go for a drive. Not to the Island though...
Toro @ Sat Feb 05, 2011 2:08 pm
EDIT - I misread what I first posted. Here is the last quarterly statement.
http://www.bcferries.com/files/AboutBCF ... ements.pdf
I would be interested to know what total compensation was. I've heard that one starts at $17-$20 an hour, though I don't know if that is true or not.