Ferry Surcharge Salt in Wound

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 03:58 AM

The Manager of the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce says the just announced fuel surcharge on B.C. Ferries, will hurt right across the board, not just on the sailing from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. Roberta Bowman says everyone who uses a ferry in BC will feel the pain.

For the Northwest, it must seem like salt is being sprinkled on an open wound.

The Fuel surcharge of 9.6 per cent applies to all fairs other than Vancouver to Vancouver Island. On those routes the surcharge will be 3.2 %.

Bowman says the bigger problem facing Prince Rupert’s economy has been the major reduction in people coming through the port from Port Hardy on BC ferries.

"We used to have a minimum of three sailings a week" she says "with 600 people a sailing that has been reduced to between one and two sailings on a ship that holds just 275 passengers." The smaller ferry is handling traffic that used to be carried by the Queen of the North. That ship sank at the end of April when it ran aground off Gil Island.

According to Bowman, the move to a smaller ferry and reduced sailings are having a major impact "We have seen a drop of between 1250 and 1525 passengers every week. That translates into about $ 600,000 dollars if every passenger only spends $100 dollars a day" she added.

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 03:58 AM in News by 250 News

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: acrider54 on June 20 2006 6:26 AM

I guess most of us will stay on the mainland and the poor Island residents will be staying home. Just like any other used to be public owned outfit, sold off by our "For Sale" Liberal government to the lowest bidder so they can jack the prices up and give us scary service. And an American running the show to boot.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on June 20 2006 7:37 AM

Well if the people that travel by ferry fiquired they would not be paying for higher fuel costs, just like the rest of us, they must be dreaming! Planes, trains and automobiles are all in the same boat. Hee Hee!

Posted by: owl on June 20 2006 9:50 AM

I realize that anyone who uses a transportation system which uses fossil fuels to operate should see an increase in fare prices. However, I am wondering whether there is a fuel surcharge for public transit? When was the last time the fare wnet up?

Posted by: diplomat on June 20 2006 10:27 AM

The Liberal government (us taxpayers!) absorbed the loss of one billion dollars (construction cost plus interest on the borrowed money until it is paid off) caused by the other government building three "fast" ferries which proved to be totally useless.

If the BC Ferry Corporation had been privatized by then I am sure it wouldn't have pulled off such a huge boondoggle.

But, alas, it was only taxpayers' money and that well never runs dry, or so it seems.

Posted by: Chadermando on June 20 2006 12:22 PM

Diplomat your wrong. It was the BC Liberals who sold the fast cats for $7 million dollars making this a billion dollar loss. It is the privatized for profit BC Ferries that had the owner of the new Fast Cats on the Queen of the North when it sank negotiation the future use of those so called uselless ferries on BC's northern routes starting next year.

Go figure....

Posted by: fedup on June 20 2006 1:29 PM

If people want to live on the islands of B.C I don't see what is unfair about paying to get thier.Everyone pays some cost for where they live for us in P.G its the lack of some services we could have if we lived in the lowermain land.As for sight seers going to visit these places well for sure they should pay they would pay extra costs to play anywhere else they went on a holiday.I don't care which gov is in power the taxpayers are paying the bill at least this way the user can pay for the use instead of every day b.cers covering the bill.

Posted by: diplomat on June 20 2006 2:08 PM

Chadermando doesn't want to admit that the NDP could have bought/built several conventional ferries with the money they blew on Glenn Clark's mega-project fast ferries.

Thanks, kb, it was indeed the NDP that decided to park them.

Soon the new ferries will start to arrive from a European shipyard.

I think three are under construction at this point in time.