Greg Amos, Staff Writer
More than 300 Coast residents who packed into a Monday night meeting on B.C. Ferries issues can count themselves part of the critical mass that spurred a dramatic provincial investment into B.C. Ferries.
Two nights after the meeting hosted by NDP MLA Nicholas Simons at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre, Premier Gordon Campbell pledged a one-time $20-million investment to restore ferry service levels for all routes. The money will also mean a 33 per cent reduction in ferry fares for December and January, on top of B.C. Ferries' previously announced 50 per cent reduction in the fuel surcharge. When the reduced surcharge comes into effect on Nov. 4, it will mean a $13.85 total savings for most vehicles on route three (Langdale to Horseshoe Bay), and $4.10 in savings for foot passengers on the route. Total costs will decrease slightly on Nov. 12, when off-peak seasonal pricing begins.
B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn said the route three schedule, which recently lost a Saturday night round trip and the first round trip on Sunday morning, will be restored effective Saturday (Oct. 25). In addition, the company will "sit down with the Southern Sunshine Coast ferry advisory committee (FAC) and have them come back with a plan to address fluctuating ridership and fuel prices."
The Monday meeting targeted the Coastal Ferry Act that established the quasi-private ferry system in 2003 as the root of public discontent. "The Coastal Ferry Act is going to keep driving the model," said Gregg Dow from the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, who shared a panel with Teresa Nightingale from Sunshine Coast Athletics, North Coast MLA Gary Coons and Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk.
In the wake of the route three cuts, Janyk told the crowd he would "raise Holy Cain" over the impact of B.C. Ferries on coastal communities, via the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) and the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), over which he presides.
A visit to the Coast last Wednesday (Oct. 15) by Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon may also have played a role in restoring the schedule. Falcon met with Sechelt Mayor Cam Reid and Coun. Keith Thirkell (see related story page A9) to discuss highway and ferry issues.
Falcon noted the province is providing $105 million in ferry subsidies for the 2007-2008 fiscal year - $45 million less than is needed, according to Jakob Knaus, the chief number cruncher for the local FAC.
With 2,450 litres of fuel consumed on a round trip for route three - assuming the ferry runs at its optimal cruising speed - and a current diesel price of about $1.15 per litre, it costs B.C. Ferries about $2,800 per round trip.
"When W.A.C. Bennett gave the ferries to a Crown corporation [in the late 1950s], he allocated $35 million to the ferries," he added. "With cost of living increases, that would be $150 million per year today."
"We [ferry users] are covering about 93 per cent of this route's expenses, and we are doing much better than the other routes, except for the major routes," said Knaus. "To those who say we have to pay to live in paradise, I say 'you are living in paradise - your provincial highway system is subsidized by a third,'" he said.
B.C. Ferries drew ire at the meeting from the Sunshine Coast Skating Club, Chatelech Secondary ski and board club and Sunshine Coast Cycling, all of whom noted Sunday morning competitions on the mainland are crucial to them.
After an unsuccessful campout at the Horseshoe Bay terminal two Saturdays ago, Nightingale said she and her supporters planned to boycott the ferry's cafeteria and gift shop. About 15 per cent of the fleet's profits come from onboard services, said spokesperson Deborah Marshall.
The panel also heard from Gibsons resident Ryan Johnstone, who two weeks ago was denied boarding with his sick 20-month-old son, despite being rushed to the ferry terminal by an ambulance that arrived before the ferry had left.
"What [B.C. Ferries] needs to start doing is looking at corporate responsibility instead of fiscal responsibility," he said.
