island transport solutions

The great Gabriola ferry debate

2011-08-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

Let's be honest.... Gabriola has a much better ferry service than most of the gulf islands. Why? Well, for one thing, we live on the only gulf island with a ferry that takes us right into town, where we can shop, eat out and so much more within walking distance of the ferry terminal. And, with an experience card, the round trip passenger fare is only a buck more than a round trip on Nanaimo Transit.

OK, nothing's perfect - and some believe that our ferries should be free because they are our highways - and we've already paid for the highways through our taxes haven't we? Well, maybe so..... but the reality is that ferries (and bridges, for that matter) take a whole lot more maintenance than highways and if we value living on a small island so much then we should expect to pay something for the privilege.

Love'em or hate'em, BC Ferries provides a service that is important to all of us - and which has to be paid for somehow. True, they aren't the world's greatest at customer service - and the ethos of the organisation seems increasingly to put profit before service. But the reality is that there is no profit any more - and BC Ferries is faced with having to cut costs just to stay afloat (sorry, no pun intended). No surprise then that the corporation favours moving the Gabriola ferry to Duke Point, where it already employs terminal staff (who, let's face it, are not exactly rushed off their feet dealing with one ferry every two and a half hours) and from where the crossing to Gabriola is only about half the distance from Nanaimo Harbour.

To their credit, BC Ferries acknowledges that the community has given this idea a big thumbs down and has said as much to the Ferry Commissioner. Yet, just because some hapless truck driver manages to close down the Nanaimo Harbour terminal by ignoring warnings that (so we are told) he was given about the structural integrity of the ferry ramp here we are, with the terminal closed, a ferry to Duke Point, a water taxi to Nanaimo .... and conspiracy theories galore.

At least we have been given an alternative - if the same thing had happened at Chemainus or Buckley Bay, how would residents of Thetis, Penelakut, Hornby or Denman get into town? In all probability the answer is they would be provided with a water taxi for foot passengers, maybe a barge service for essential supply trucks - but no means of taking their car on or off the island. We're lucky here on Gabriola, and maybe that's worth remembering.

So here we are, three days into an emergency transport plan that has actually worked remarkably well, thanks to the good weather (smooth crossings so far on the water taxi) and the fact that the kids are home from school for the summer - so that, at the drop of a hat, the Scholarship can be released from its normal school run duties on Salt Spring Island to provide a day-long service for Gabriola. No-one questions how long the Scholarship's crew worked on Friday (best not maybe) or how much they, or Gulf Islands Water Taxi, were being paid for their efforts. Let's just say that the company will likely make a comfortable profit out of BC Ferries' misfortune. But we don't mind that, do we? After all, it's a private business isn't it? Just like BC Ferries. Or maybe that's different. But why so?

Back in the UK, the conservatives privatised the National Bus Company in 1986 and British Railways in 1993. In both cases, screams of public outcry echoed round the country for more than 10 years until suddenly we started to realise that the quality of service we were getting from the private companies was, in many cases, far better than had been the case while the industry was in government hands. Yes, there were the Fat Cats along the way who had walked away with millions - but generally, that was because they had taken the financial risk by re-investing in new, more efficient infrastructure and had actually listened to what customers said they wanted. Result? A more reliable service, fewer complaints - and (usually) happier customers.

Few now believe that a return to government-run buses and trains would benefit anyone. The private sector has proved itself capable of running services more efficiently and at lower cost. Yet still the argument rolls on that these are public services and the public should have a greater say in how they are run. In a sense, the public does have a say, since it elected the local and national governments that are tasked with regulating the systems. If the system falls down, it's just as likely to be through lack of expertise and poor contract management on the part of the government than through any malpractice by the private contractor.

All of which sounds horribly familiar in the context of BC Ferries, doesn't it? Have BC Ferries really done such a bad job of meeting their obligation to government under the Coastal Ferry Act? Or is it the Act itself that has failed to adequately protect public interest? In reality it's probably a little of both, and maybe it's time that the Province and the Ferry Commission took a long hard look at whether the Ferry Advisory Committees - supposedly the public watchdogs for ferry users - are really achieving what they should.

Critics point to a lack of impartiality since FAC members are appointed by BC Ferries, and not by public nomination. Little surprise, therefore, that the public's confidence in the role of FAC's is wearing thin. To be effective, FAC members need to be adequately briefed by BC Ferries on how the business is run, and the financial implications of any proposed change. But that doesn't mean that the FAC should be run as if it was part of the company. Public watchdogs should function independently of the service provider, but within clear terms of reference to ensure that the viability of the business (and therefore the service to the customer) is not prejudiced.

The Ferry Commission should take advantage of the extra time allowed for its review of the BC Ferries contract to make one simple change to the constitution of FACs - to give them true independence in their role, and regain the confidence of their customers. It works with the privatised railway and bus industries in the UK, and it can work here in BC with the ferry system.

The Greyhound saga rolls on..... for now

2010-11-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

Back in September, Greyhound Canada announced their intention to cut the number of buses they run between Vancouver and Nanaimo from six a day to just two, citing falling traffic and growing losses as the reason. To help contain costs, they agreed with the BC Passenger Transportation Board that they would run the remaining four buses as shuttles to the ferryport on either side, with passengers boarding the ferry as walk-ons.

Enter BC Ferries into the equation, and after some heated discussion, BC Ferries refused to allow Greyhound buses to park outside the terminals, forcing Greyhound to abandon the four shuttle buses and (despite being under an obligation to run them pending determination of their application) their service has only run 2 buses each way since early October.

Since then, the tables have turned - and now, Greyhound has seemingly reached agreement with BC Ferries for the use of the terminals - but the Passenger Transportation Board has determined that, under the terms of their intercity bus licence, the Greyhound bus must be taken on the ferry and make the complete journey from Vancouver to Nanaimo and back. For Greyhound, this not only means paying for the coach to travel on the ferry - but also means they have to continue paying their drivers for 2 hours or more of unproductive time on every journey.

Not surprisingly, this now makes the whole Greyhound service on the route unsustainable, and this week Greyhound have applied to the Board to withdraw the service altogether. For Greyhound, the fact that Translink and BC Transit serve the ferry terminals on either side with subsidised low-fare bus routes - and others, like the Island Link bus service on Vancouver Island, can run 'connector buses' to and from the ferry terminals with no route licence obligations at all, meant that they were at the very high end of a distinctly unlevel playing field. What choice did Greyhound have?

Well, they say if you can't beat'em, join'em. And Greyhound has now advised the Passenger Transport Board that, having apparently reached agreement with BC Ferries on parking arrangements, they intend to run 'connector buses' to and from the ferry terminals on either side "as many or as few times a day as market conditions dictate". Or, in other words, Greyhound will exploit a legal loophole that, quite legitimately, lets them run whatever service they want to - or none at all.

All of which may be good for passengers, or maybe not. Greyhound claims to have reinstated the six trips a day from November 15th, but look on their website and they still offer bookings on only two journeys each way - which doesn't instil much confidence for the future - and probably leaves their operating partners (like Tofino Bus, who run connecting services between Nanaimo and Tofino) as confused as the rest of us.

What does this sad tale convey? Well, the overriding impression is that the legislation under which inter-city bus operators are obliged to run defined levels of service (and, in return, get a degree of protection from competition) has lost most, if not all of its teeth and operators like Greyhound Canada can - and will - do whatever they want. Running inter-city buses is an expensive business, and no operator can afford to continue running near-empty buses - so is there a purpose to the licence system any more? It's only a little over a year ago that another operator also withdrew their route from Vancouver Airport to Nanaimo - once again, without waiting for the Board's approval to do so.

It's time to accept that market conditions have changed dramatically since the Passenger Transport Act established the current legislative framework, leaving the dominant inter-city bus operators frustrated and out-of-pocket, yet preventing innovative alternatives being established to meet today's more discerning transport needs. The inter-city bus market in BC is decaying - yet in other parts of the country new high quality, low-cost alternatives such as Megabus and Bolt Bus (ironically a re-invention by Greyhound) are flourishing. True, the markets are different - but with a little imagination and the right product, the market is there on Vancouver Island.

So come on, BC Government, take a long hard look at the rule book, and ask yourself whether the time is right to remove the regulations limiting entry to the inter-city bus market before the old dog retreats back to its kennel altogether.

BC Ferries eyes up route "efficiencies"

2010-11-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

Last week, BC Ferries produced a document entitled Opportunities for Enhanced Efficiency in Performance Term Three to the BC Ferry Commissioner, as part of their Performance Term Three Submission, from which the Commissioner determines price caps for each of the route groups for a four-year period from 2010 until 2016.

Emphasising that these opportunities for enhanced efficiency are not, in fact BC Ferries' proposals, but are "matters of public policy for consideration", the report goes on to propose the scrapping of two southern routes and significant changes to several others. Among the changes suggested is the following:

Elimination of Route 12 (Mill Bay - Brentwood Bay) - avoiding expenditure of $2.3 million on refurbishing MV Klitsa (to replace the 53 year old MV Mill Bay) and saving $2.8 million in terminal upgrades at Mill Bay and Brentwood Bay
Changing the terminal for Route 19 (Nanaimo Harbour - Gabriola Island) to Duke Point, to reduce journey time, despite the recent rejection of this proposal by island residents.
Elimination or restructuring of Route 9 (Tsawwassen - Southern Gulf Islands) and closure of the Long Harbour terminal - avoiding over $100 million in vessel replacement costs for MV Queen of Nanaimo and leading to closure of the Long Harbour terminal
Inclusion of Route 3 (Horseshoe Bay - Langdale) as part of the major route network, releasing up to $5m of subsidy for the minor routes .... with "greater flexibility" of service levels on Route 3.
Reductions in off-peak services on Route 30 (Tsawwassen - Duke Point) on Saturday evenings and Sundays, coupled with the early closure of the Departure Bay terminal on Saturdays and evening sailings on Route 2 to and from Horseshoe Bay diverted to Duke Point.

The full text of BC Ferries' submission can be read here.

Canadian pension funds pay $3bn+ for UK high speed rail line

2010-11-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

New Transit :
5 November 2010

Two Canadian pension funds have clinched a £2bn deal to acquire the High Speed 1 rail route between London and the Channel Tunnel.

The government announced the sale of the line, which was completed in 2008, in June as part of efforts to reduce national debt. Transport secretary Philip Hammond this morning announced a consortium comprising Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will pay the government a total concession value of £2.1bn to operate the line for the next 30 years.

The consortium will take on the management of the 68 mile line which links London to the Channel Tunnel following completion later this month. The consortium will be responsible for running the line as well as stations such as St Pancras International, and the international stations at Stratford, Ashford and Ebbsfleet.

Borealis Infrastructure is the infrastructure investment arm of the OMERS Worldwide group of companies, one of Canada’s largest pension plans. Meanwhile, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada and already has a number of investments in the UK including airports in Bristol and Birmingham.

Commenting on the deal Hammond said: “This is great news for taxpayers and rail passengers alike. It is a big vote of confidence in UK plc and a big vote of market confidence in the future of high speed rail. It also shows that the decisive action this Government has taken to reduce the deficit is already paying dividends and that investors believe once again that Britain is open for business. “The £2.1bn receipt exceeds the highest expectations for the sale and will make a welcome contribution to reducing the deficit. "I look forward to working with the new concessionaire and to the benefits passengers will see as High Speed 1 seeks to attract new services to the line, allowing British passengers to travel by high speed train to even more destinations across Europe. “This is an exciting time for rail travel and an important step in our plans to develop a truly national and international high speed network for British travellers.”

The successful sale was managed for the government by London & Continental Railways. Commenting on today’s announcement, L&CR chief executive Mark Bayley said: “High Speed 1 is a unique, high quality infrastructure asset which speeds tens of thousands of people between London, Kent and continental Europe every day. I am very proud to have been associated with the business and its excellent management, and believe that we have achieved an extremely good price for HS1 through a very competitive process.”

High Speed 1 is currently used by international Eurostar services between London and European destinations as well as domestic high speed services between London and Kent operated by Govia subsidiary Southeastern. Additional international services are likely to commence in the coming years. Last month German rail giant Deutsche Bahn confirmed that it is planning new high speed services between London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt from 2014. Meanwhile, the DfT has confirmed that the performance of the new operator of the line will be independently policed by the Office of Rail Regulation to ensure that "rail passengers' interests are effectively safeguarded".

Come on Gabriola, take a leaf from Bowen's book

2010-09-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

It's almost two years now since Gabriola floated the idea of Car Stops - a concept pioneered by the local community on Pender Island which, like Gabriola, has no public transportation.

The Pender Car Stops scheme started back in 2008 with 16 signs funded jointly by the Regional District and the Lions Club of BC. Because these were permanent signs, permission had to be obtained from the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure (MOTI) before they could be erected. A further 13 Car Stops were added in 2009, with the aim that there should be a Car Stop within walking distance of every home on the island.

Gabriola's hopes of establishing a similar scheme in 2009 were dashed by bureaucracy - when a generous $3,500 grant offered by MOTI flew right out the window while we waited in vain for the Regional District of Nanaimo to issue permits for the signs and to decide whether they would accept liability and maintenance responsibility. Since then - nothing. Despite every good intention, the community seems to have accepted that the whole idea is just too complex and there's nothing we can do about it.

Back in the UK, hundreds of small rural communities have developed voluntary car schemes with no formal signage and no intervention required from local government. So why can't Gabriola do the same, I asked. No, it can't be done here, I was told - the insurance regulations wouldn't allow it. And anyway, there's probably no-one with the time to co-ordinate such a scheme.

So now, along comes Bowen Island with a voluntary lift-giving scheme that does just what it says on the tin

Launching their new website this week, Bowen LIFT needs no roadside signs, no co-ordinator, no funding from MOTI and no government permits. It's just a self-help website on which offers or requests for rides can be posted, and self-printed car signs to let folks know that you're able to offer a ride in the direction indicated on the sign. So simple, it could have been invented for Gabriola.

How often have we walked onto the ferry and trekked the lines of cars hoping to see a friend or neighbour who can offer a ride home? Or set off up the hill, telling ourselves that there's no point thumbing a ride until we've made the turn into Taylor Bay, North or South Road? With a small sign in the front of the car, it would be so easy to spot cars heading in the right direction - even on the ferry.

So come on Gabriola, don't sit there with your head in your hands saying it's all too complicated. It can be done - and I, for one, will be watching with interest to see how Bowen Island's initiative pays off. And if, like me, you think this is a scheme worth promoting, let me know by email at john@islandtransportsolutions.com . We could have this up and running in no time!

Just another school trip hazard

2010-09-14T01:21:00.000-07:00

The following news release was published yesterday by Port Alberni RCMP
MISSING BUS & STUDENTS LOCATED - SAFE AND SOUND

2010-09-13 17:29 PDT
Shortly after 11:30 am today, RCMP in Port Alberni were advised of an overdue bus, with ten Edmonton students (grade 11 & 12), two teachers, and one driver, that failed to arrive at their destination. The group had departed Victoria, BC, destined for the Coast Guard Research Station in Bamfield, BC. They were expected by 10:00 pm last evening.
Upon receiving the report, Port Alberni RCMP, with the support the RCMP Air Services Helicopter based on Vancouver Island, and Search and Rescue crews from Port Alberni, Sooke, Lake Cowichan, and Nitinat, commenced a large scale ground and air search operation. This search, which began at approximately 12:30 pm, intensified throughout the day, until 4:30 pm. At 4:30 pm, a forestry worker located the bus and passengers, who had become stuck on a section of the Caycuse Mainline logging road. A piece of heavy equipment was used to assist the bus back on to the roadway. The bus and passengers are now driving on to the Research Station, as originally planned.

This area of Vancouver Island has limited cellular telephone coverage, making contact to and from the group difficult. The worker who located the group returned to an area with cellular coverage, and called the school and police to advise of the groups discovery.
The Port Alberni RCMP extend their appreciation to the search and rescue crews, local forestry workers, and others who assisted in this search.

For those of us more accustomed to arranging school trips in the UK, the prospect of a school bus going missing for up to 18 hours - even for 12 hours before the police are alerted - is beyond belief. Press reports suggest that the driver took a wrong turn and got lost in the rugged wilderness.

Much of inland Vancouver Island has little or no cellphone coverage - and if schools are arranging visits that will take them into remote areas, maybe they should ensure that the bus carries a GPS tracker?

Four die in Megabus en route to Toronto

2010-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Four people are now known to have lost their lives in an horrific accident in which an off-route Stagecoach Megabus en route from Philadelphia to Toronto struck an overhead bridge clearly signed as having just 10'9" headroom. The Van Hool Astromega is over 13' high.

Police and Stagecoach officials are investigating why the driver took this unauthorised route instead of making his scheduled stop in Syracuse, NY. Reports suggest that the driver had missed the exit into Syracuse centre and was looking for an alternative route.

A video report of the accident can be seen at http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2010/09/onondaga_lake_parkway_bus_cras.html

What's Chiltern Railways' boss Adrian Shooter up to today?

2010-09-10T04:07:00.000-07:00

Chiltern Railways' chairman Adran Shooter and his wife Barbara have set off today to drive to Paris. Nothing special about that, you might say - except that they're in Adrian's 1930 Ford Model A and they've just set off from Beijing at the start of the gruelling 36-day Peking to Paris car rally!

With Adrian as driver and chief mechanic - and Barbara as navigator - they are raising funds for the Ponheary Ly Foundation, which helps provide education for some of the poorest, disenfrachised children in Cambodia. One of the schools supported by the Foundation is the Koh Ker School (below), set in the middle of landmine fields left behind by the Khmer Rouge. Adrian and Barbara have already secured donations of more than $3000 towards this valuable cause, and you can donate by going to http://www.firstgiving.com/shooterspekingtoparis.

You can follow their progress in the rally on Barbara's blog at http://barbarashooter.blogspot.com/ (as far as internet access along the way permits) - and track them live by satellite at http://livetrack.skytag-gps.co.uk/login_action.html?user=pekingparis&passw=skytag&action=login&skip_auto=1&lang=en . Click 'refresh screen' if the map doesn't appear. Select Car No. 029 from the list and see where they are right now!

U-Pass and VIU : stalemate or opportunity?

2010-09-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

So, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is one of the few higher eduction establishments in BC that will not be subscribing to the U-PASS scheme this year. Let's examine the facts.

The majority of universities in BC are located in Vancouver or Victoria, where the density of population - and therefore the quality of public transit service - is way higher than in Nanaimo. The result? Students see a real benefit from joining the scheme. VIU's student population is distributed throughout the city and beyond - including some from out of town, and from the gulf islands (especially Gabriola).

Nanaimo's low population density results in many parts of the city being poorly served by public transit - even to downtown, let alone to VIU way out there on the edge of town. The result? No chance of achieving a sustainable transit network that will meet the needs of a majority of students.

Stalemate? Not necessarily.
The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), as the supplier of BC Transit services in the city, is set targets for passenger growth which they will only meet if they can encourage many more students out of their cars and onto their buses. RDN's Transit Business Plan identifies the growth in demand for transit to VIU, but continues to plan on the basis of students' willingness to accept a bus journey that involves an unreliable transfer in the city centre - or at the Country Club Exchange.

BC Transit acknowledges that almost half (46%) of the respondents to their 2008 passenger survey in Nanaimo reported that their journey involved a mid-route transfer - and that 44% of those transfers took place at Country Club Exchange - and, by implication, the majority of those will be students at VIU. It's time that RDN acknowledged that mid-route transfers are a major discouragement to existing passengers -and a complete non-starter when it comes to attracting new transit users.

RDN must reappraise its priorities and develop a route network that minimises the need for transfers, and focuses on providing reliable, frequent services where the demand can be demonstrated, even if that means that some lesser used routes are dropped.

It is wholly unrealistic to expect RDN and BC Transit to provide high frequency services from all over the city directly to VIU. They simply would not be sustainable. However, it is equally unrealistic for the RDN to expect every student to contribute to a network that will, at best, only serve two-thirds of the student population.

Maybe the concept of U-PASS is simply wrong for Nanaimo - and what is needed is for RDN to focus on delivering a quality service to VIU on the busiest routes, with tickets priced at a level that students will be willing and able to pay. This concept works widely in the UK, where it is the bus operators that take the financial risk - and, by providing the quality and frequency of service that the market demands, the customer (read: Student) will use transit by choice. Maybe choice is something that the RDN and VIU Student Union should think about more seriously.

A recent article in the Nanaimo Daily News has generated a wide range of views on this topic. These can be followed at http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/story.html?id=cc1f6d46-3123-4a9d-947d-acb42640ea4e

It's all in the writing

2010-08-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

It's been said that travel broadens the mind - and our recent journey around the Gulf Islands certainly highlighted the very different atmosphere of the various island communities that we visited. Although not by any means the definitive guide, the initial impression created as you land by ferry offers just a hint of what to expect.

As a benchmark, take the approach to Saltery Bay, the northern terminal on the Sunshine Coast's ferry link from Earls Cove. Simple, business-like and informative. Just in case you've forgotten that you are, in fact, aboard one of BC Ferries' fleet, the sign is there to remind you.

The same corporate image announces your arrival at Sturdies Bay. For the well infomed, it will be evident that you are about to land on Galiano Island. For the uninitiated, however, you could be just about anywhere. It is rumoured that the local businesses maintain this anonymity as a way of convincing the rookie ferry passenger from the mainland that he has actually arrived on Vancouver Island.

Within sight of Galiano Island is Mayne Island - a community so proud of its twin ferry docks that the nation's flag flies high above dock #1 to welcome travellers from the mainland. Since our visit, one BC Ferry made a 'hard landing' at (read: crashed into) the dock and for a couple of weeks this proud island community was down to just one landing.

Just yards away under the Provincial flag is dock #2, offering a more informal (or is that informative?) welcome to fellow islanders arriving from the other Southern Gulf Islands, possibly tempting them to rest awhile at Village Bay while they summon up the energy to travel onward to the mainland. Or does it say something more significant about a community with a split personality?

Further north, the same formality - minus the corporate image - welcomes visitors to Denman Island, conveying the atmosphere of a fiercely independent community that likes to present a well ordered and respectable face to the traveller. No surprise, therefore, that so many would-be explorers continue straight on across Denman to sample the less formal, if ever-so-slightly disorganised atmosphere of Hornby Island.

This welcome sign says it all!

Sailing ......... but not as it should be

2010-08-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

After the delights of a 55 minute mini-cruise aboard MV Island Sky, expectations were high for the next part of our journey around the islands.

The 1hr 20m crossing from Powell River to Comox runs just four times a day, so a reservation is recommended. The most northerly of the four short crossings from the mainland to Vancouver Island, this route passes close to Texada Island - the largest of the gulf islands, but with a full time population of just over 1,100 - and nearby Harwood Island, an uninhabited reserve of the Sliammon First Nation.

Arriving early in Powell River, we watched in disbelief as the earlier departure slipped quietly out of the ferry terminal en route to Comox. Disbelief at the abysmal appearance of the Queen of Burnaby. Built back in 1965 and sister ship to the respectable Queen of Nanaimo, the Queen of Burnaby really is the dog-end of the BC Ferries fleet.


Click on the photograph to see a larger image.

The Queen of Burnaby in her heyday

At first sight, she looks like a rusting hulk - with upper deck windows carrying so much grime that, from a distance she gives the impression of being a burnt-out shell. I recalled that BC Ferries having closed the cafeteria earlier this year on discovering asbestos powder seeping from the ceilings, and began to wonder what we were letting ourselves in for?

We boarded the Queen of Burnaby later that day with some trepidation; at least she was running to schedule on what had been one of the busiest days of the year so far. Yet the mezzanine platform car decks were only half deployed - was that to provide extra capacity for high vehicles on the main deck below, or because they would no longer support two lanes of cars? I preferred not to think too much about that. At least the cafeteria (or a cafeteria) was now open and serving a full menu.

A walk around the open decks was taken (with care) as the steelwork beneath our feet was buckled and distinctly spongy in places. Towards the bow, all access doors into the deserted lounge(?) area were locked, sealed with polythene sheeting and hazard tape. The asbestos problem in the cafeteria had not been resolved, but simply sealed off, and a new cafeteria created in another lounge area.

Fortunately the sun was shining and we spent most of the crossing on deck; feeling ever more convinced that this was a ferry that should no longer be in service. Ironically, BC Ferries seem to have removed all details of the Queen of Burnaby from the fleet profile page of their website. Maybe they, too, would rather this particular Queen would abdicate.


The Coat of Arms bears the motto "Splendor Sine Occasu" - loosely translated as "Brilliance without setting". It surely must be close to setting aboard the Queen of Burnaby.

It would be good to finish on a more enthusiastic note; surely the scenery would make up for the less than exciting ferry experience. There must be some beautiful areas on Texada Island, but there was little beauty to be seen from the deck of the Queen of Burnaby.

Sailing.......through a little bit of paradise

2010-08-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

A week travelling around on car ferries may not be everyone's idea of paradise - but as a means of experiencing the beauty of British Columbia some ferries are hard to beat.

On Day 2 of our recent trip we boarded the MV Island Sky - BC Ferries' newest "little" ship - to complete the "missing link" on the Sunshine Coast's Highway 101. Taking just under an hour, the journey from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay must rate as one of the most spectacular ferry journeys on the west coast.

Boarding the Island Sky, we had no idea what to expect. Externally, the design is not unlike her smaller, more venerable cousins, Bowen Queen and Mayne Queen - except for the addition of a mezzanine car deck to provide extra capacity. Once aboard, however, the passenger accommodation is of the same standard as Coastal Renaissance. But as soon as you leave the Earls Cove terminal, the real treat begins.

Initially travelling northeastwards, the route follows the coastline of Nelson Island, then turns through the narrow channel between Nelson and Captain Island before finally heading west down Jervis Inlet towards Saltery Bay.

From the sundeck, passengers sit back and enjoy some of the best scenery in British Columbia

Mountains, forests, inlets and magical views at every turn

If any ferry journey can be rated as a mini-cruise, this must certainly be one.

Read before you buy!

2010-07-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

From time to time we're all guilty of failing to read the small print when we make a purchase - but when that purchase is costing over $1,000 then surely it has to be a must.

Take BC Ferries' Assured Loading Tickets (ALTs), for example. If you're a frequent traveller between Vancouver Island and the mainland, ALTs offer priority travel right up to 20 minutes before departure time. The down side is that you have to pay for ten ALTs at a time, and that's currently going to cost you $1,250 up front. And you have to use your tickets within two years, or the card expires, along with your cash.

The conditions of sale are clearly spelt out by BC Ferries - and so when someone fails to take notice, is it really any wonder that the company says "sorry, not our problem" ? No matter how clearly terms and conditions are spelt out, there will always be customers who fail to read them and suddenly realise that they're out of pocket. Today's Nanaimo Daily News cites one such case, and without doubt there will be others.

The moral of the story is clear - buyer beware! If you're paying as much as $1,250 to any business, then make sure you understand what you're getting. After all, BC ferries spell out the terms quite clearly.... [click to enlarge]

We are sailing...... ( #1 )

2010-07-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

One of BC Ferries' best kept secrets is SailPass - a prepaid voucher for either 4 or 7 consecutive days' travel over much of British Columbia's island ferry network.

With a 7 day SailPass costing just $40 more than its 4 day counterpart, the 7-day ticket offers much better value - though, in reality, even 7 days hardly provides enough time to experience all of the dozen or so available routes. Still, with claimed savings of around $200 on a typical 7 day itinerary, Island Transport Solutions decided to put the product to the test.
As with any multi-route ticket, planning the journey is half the challenge - balancing the desire to get maximum use out of the ticket with the desire to actually see something of Beautiful British Columbia along the way - apart from a series of ferry car decks that is. Our journey begins in just over 7 days time - and already we've realised that not everything is quite as straightforward as it seems.

First off, where can you buy your SailPass? They're not sold at ferry terminals - even the major terminals - so you either have to search out one of the few Tourism Centres that does sell them (which means only Nanaimo or Victoria on Vancouver Island) or buy it on line. If you're a BCAA member, there's another 10% discount if you buy on line - but, perversely, the discount isn't available if you take your BCAA membership card into a sales agent. There must be some logic to that..... or maybe not.

Ok, so now you have your ticket to travel - your passport to freedom of the Salish Sea. Well, not so much a ticket - more a flimsy sheet of paper, less than half the size of the receipt you printed off your computer when you booked it. The sort of thing any student with access to the school's laser printer could produce in less than 5 minutes. And small enough to blow away at the first sign of a sea breeze. Note to self - pin it to something heavy before you leave. If BC Ferries can issue credit-card style Experience Cards, why not do the same for a SailPass? That way, they could prevent counterfeits and monitor the amount of travel undertaken - surely of value for future marketing?

Next it's time to plan your itinerary - to build a vacation around your ticket to travel. If it's summer, it's probably wise to pre-book overnight accommodation along the way - but what about reserving space on ferry crossings? Only the major routes offer advance reservations - but how do you decide whether a reservation is actually needed? Obviously, BC Ferries will encourage you to make advance reservations on all major routes - after all, it means they can charge you another $15 for the privilege.

Our planned itinerary will [probably] look something like this:
Day 1 : Gabriola-Nanaimo Harbour; Departure Bay-Horseshoe Bay; Horseshoe Bay-Langdale.
overnight at Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast.
Day 2 : Earls Cove-Saltery Bay; Powell River-Comox. Overnight in Courtenay.
Day 3 : Buckley Bay-Denman Island; Denman-Hornby Island. Return to Courtenay overnight.
Day 4 : Chemainus-Thetis Island & return. Theatre and overnight in Chemainus.
Day 5 : Cofton-Vesuvius. Maybe a quick hop over to Pender Island? Overnight on Salt Spring Island.
Day 6 : Salt Spring-Tsawwassen via Mayne Island. Overnight in Vancouver.
Day 7 : Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay; Brentwood Bay-Mill Bay; Nanaimo Harbour-Gabriola.

Well, that's the plan anyway, with various events along the way. So what about reservations? $15 may provide peace of mind on the busy crossings - but it does mean committing to a specific departure time - thereby limiting the options for sightseeing. Decision time - we reserve for Powell River-Courtenay (only 4 sailings a day) and Salt Spring-Tsawwassen (1 or 2 sailings a day). The rest will just happen - or not!

Online reservations are easy - but hardly straightforward. On routes between the Mainland and Vancouver Island, you pay only the $15 reservation fee at the time of booking, then pay the fare (or present your SailPass) at the ticket booth. Then there's the Salt Spring route. Before I realise it, I've paid the full fare online for a journey that I've already paid for on my SailPass. That can't be right, surely? A phone call to BC Ferries Customer Services (press 4, press 2, press 0 - you know what I mean) confirms that reservations on this route require full up-front payment. But I've already paid - and I don't want to pay twice! "That's a problem with this system" explains the customer service agent - "but don't worry, I'll refund the fare and put a note on the reservation that you have a SailPass". Sounds good - so long as the reservation is still there when I get there!
Only time will tell..........

Ferry changes throw Greyhound passengers into confusion

2010-06-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Unexpected changes to BC Ferries' Horsehoe Bay - Departure Bay route started today - leaving confusion among passengers booked on Greyhound's coach services to and from Vancouver Island.

With minimal notice to passengers, BC Ferries has implemented new schedules on its Horseshoe Bay routes to Nanaimo and Langdale, because of a shortage of ferries caused by a siezed engine on the Queen of Surrey, which normally plies the Langdale route. This means that sailings to and from Departure Bay, Nanaimo will now run up to 30 minutes later than advertised, from today until September 6.

These changes seem to have caught Greyhound on the hop, with their Vancouver-Nanaimo services not retimed until a week later (July 6) to fit in with the new ferry schedule. No changes are so far proposed to connecting services between Nanaimo to Victoria, Campbell River and Port Hardy - so there is a risk that some passengers may miss their connections in Nanaimo.

Tofino Bus, whose Island Express service links Nanaimo with Port Alberni and Tofino has rescheduled its evening service on Fridays and Sundays to leave Nanaimo at 9.30pm, 15 minutes later than advertised, to ensure the connection from Vancouver, starting Friday (July 2).

Meanwhile, BC Transit is also retiming its 9pm #90 Intercity Connector service from Horseshoe Bay to Parksville and Qualicum Beach to run 30 minutes later from today until September 6.

How do passengers find out about these changes? You may well ask! Greyhound does not publish a schedule leaflet, so it's only when you book that the times are confirmed. And if the schedule changes after you've booked.........?

Check out the Island Transport Solutions website for up to date ferry, bus, train and floatplane services to the islands

School bus challenge

2010-06-25T03:17:00.000-07:00

This week, the Ministry of Education has announced that they are to spend a cool $12.5 million on 106 new green [well, yellow anyway] school buses - of which just two will find their way to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District.

In a press release this week, Minister of Education Margaret MacDiarmid revealed:

“Student transportation services cost more than $90 million annually. Over the coming months, we will be looking for new ways to provide bus transportation for students that will save money that can be reinvested in classrooms.”

Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District expects to spend $1,285,000 on transportation this year - of which $1,239,000 is the direct costs (excluding administration) of running 17 school buses around the district. That's an average $73,000 a year for each school bus. On top of that is the capital cost of the buses themselves - with the new 42-seat buses costing $114,000 each, rising to $140,000 for bigger, 84-seat buses.

MacDiarmid suggests that some school districts are saving money by providing students with Transit passes instead of running their own buses. That's great - providing you have a transit service to start with! Needless to say, there is no transit service on Gabriola - and one cost saving measure proposed by the School District is to assign a mechanic to drive the link bus from the Gabriola ferry to NDSS and back, instead of employing a driver - meaning there's less time spent on maintaining the buses. Sound economy? I'm not so sure.

And meanwhile, Gabriola cries out for a transit service to help the ever growing number of older folk - and young families without their own transport - access the necessities of life. BC Transit has promised a review of the potential for a transit service - but it doesn't look like it's coming anytime soon. And yet we have a school bus on the island that sits idle most days between 9am and 3pm, and daily from 5pm onwards.

Now I'm not suggesting that the yellow school bus should be used to provide a transit service during the day - anyone who has peeked through the door of the school bus will know that you need the agility of a mountain goat to climb the flight of steps inside the bus - which is the price that you pay for designing a school bus on a cheap, mass-produced truck frame.

No, what is needed on Gabriola is some joined up thinking between School District 68 and BC Transit to invest in a step-free transit bus that can be used for both services. Yes, I know that means there would be no transit service before 9am or for two hours in the afternoon - but by sharing the running costs between BC Transit, School District 68 and Nanaimo Regional District, we could secure a transit service for shoppers, medical appointments and leisure trips at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated transit bus. Once that's established, then it's time to consider whether a second bus - for peak time travel - can be justified.

It's time to accept that it's no longer sustainable to run two separate transport systems in rural communities : it's time to think outside the box and look for an integrated solution to secure transport services for the future. The yellow school bus working for just 4 hours a day is living on borrowed time. And meanwhile, Gabriola walks.