Community Articles (listed by posting date)
General News · 3rd December 2007
John Sprungman
Sometime in the spring, when we arrive at the Campbell River terminal, there won't be ticket books anymore, and we will have the option of paying the full cash fare or acquiring a plastic “smart media” card with a magnetic strip that links it to an account with BC Ferries, much like a bank debit card.
Until March 31, when there will be another fare increase, the cash cost of a roundtrip between Campbell River and Quadra is $23.10 for a car and driver and $6.95 for a passenger. With prepaid ticket books, those fares are $14.50 and $4.05.
The Quadra-Cortes roundtrip is $26.80 in cash for a car and driver and $8.10 for a passenger. With ticket books, it's $19.00 and $5.40. The cash fare for Campbell River-Cortes roundtrip is $49.90 for car and driver and $15.05 per passenger. With prepaid tickets, it's $33.50 and $9.45.
Rob Clarke, BC Ferries' Chief Financial Officer, attended our FAC meeting on Quadra on Friday, November 30, to explain how the cards will work and to answer questions. I emailed the following information to him after the meeting and he has confirmed that it is accurate.
To get the prepaid ticket prices after BC Ferries stops selling the paper books, we will have to get the “smart” cards and give BC Ferries specific amounts of money up front.
If we deposit exactly $75 or any multiple of $75 (i.e., $150, $225 or $300), this brainy bit of plastic, swiped through a card reader at the terminal, will recognize that you are entitled to any prepaid fare in the system and will subtract from your account the price of the trip you are about to take, providing you have a sufficient balance to cover the cost of that trip. If you don't, ante up another $75 right now.
If you only travel as a foot passenger, you can get the prepaid passenger fare by depositing $40 or any multiple of $40 (i.e., $80, $120 or $160), but if your last deposit to your account was $40 and you want to use the card to pay a vehicle fare, you will be charged the full cash fare for the car unless you put $75 on your account right then.
This may sound confusing, but it is essentially no different than buying another ticket book if you've used yours up or don't have the appropriate one. However, we will not be purchasing a specified number of trips but will be charged a dollar amount for each trip.
The good news is that the deposit amounts are considerably less than most of us are spending for ticket books now. There is no minimum balance that has to be maintained, no time limit on the use of the card and no residence requirement to have one. And the cards will give us the lower rates on any BC Ferry that currently has prepaid ticket books.
More than one card can be linked to an account so that family members, people who work for a business that pays their fares, or any group of people who want to share an account can draw on the same funds.
Although each card will have a number and be linked to an account, to protect the privacy of ferry users, it will not be necessary to have your name or any identifying information on the account. It will be possible to deposit funds to your account online with a bank transfer or credit card, by phone with a credit or debit card or by paying at the terminal.
You will also have the option of registering your account for free which will protect your funds if a card is lost or stolen and will allow you to print a trip report which you might use for a tax receipt. Registered card holders may also be able to set up an automatic transfer of funds from a bank account or credit card when their balance drops to a specified level.
BC Ferries plans an information blitz before the introduction of the cards and Clarke says terminals will have added staffing during the transition to assist customers. The change may come as early as March but might take longer. The Heriot Bay terminal is one of five in the system which will need electronic equipment to accept credit or debit card payments or process the new smart cards.
FAC members emphasized the need to install a card reader at the Campbell River waiting room so foot passengers do not have to trek to the ticket booth for boarding passes. This may not be in place when the changeover is made, but BC Ferries recognizes the need for it.
Existing paper tickets will be accepted after the cards come into play, but beginning April 1, ferry users will have to pay the difference between the value of their paper tickets and the current prepaid fare. Paper tickets sold since November 1 are stamped with a dollar value. Tickets purchased before November 1 will be worth the October 31 cost of ticket books. This effectively eliminates buying tickets just before a fare hike to avoid paying the increase.
Seniors will continue to use their Gold Cards for free passenger travel Mondays through Thursdays. Students and those with medical passes will continue to be treated as they are now.
Priority for Medical Reasons
FAC member Bob Brown, who represents Quadra Seniors, recounted several stories of people arriving at the Quathiaski Cove terminal in the private vehicles needing to get to the hospital quickly and not being given priority loading. He also suggested that doctors on Quadra going into Campbell River to see patients at the hospital and Campbell River doctors making house calls on Quadra should be given priority loading.
Senior Master Wayne Maxted responded that in medical emergencies, the ambulance always gets priority. “If a doctor sends a letter with a patient or phones the terminal requesting a medical priority,” Maxted said, “we would make every effort to assist. If someone has a letter, common courtesy would suggest they should be phoning the Campbell River terminal in advance to advise which sailing they need rather than just arrive.”
The Campbell River terminal (286-1412) can communicate with both the Quadra and Cortes ferries by phone and by radio.
BC Ferries' Vice President for Terminal Operations, Manuel Achadinha, told the meeting that BCF is discussing priority loading for doctors with the Vancouver Island Health Authority and a general policy for all ferries may be forthcoming.
Fares: How Much is Too Much
Bill Assu from the Cape Mudge Band opened our FAC meeting at the Quadra Community Centre last Friday with a comment on the hardship the higher ferry fares pose for people on fixed incomes.
He pointed out that band members own their houses but not the land that they are on and don't have the option of selling out to wealthy retirees and moving to where roads are paid for by everyone and there is no direct charge to the users.
“Not that I want to go anywhere else,” he said. “This is my home.”
Unfortunately, as CFO Rob Clarke explained to the meeting, BCF has to operate within an environment created by the Provincial Government which decides how much taxpayer funding will go to ferry service. The government also passed legislation which set up the B.C. Ferry Commission to review BCF's expenditures and projected costs and set limits on how much BCF can charge ferry users to sustain their operations.
“It's my job,” Clarke said, “to make sure we have get all the revenue we are allowed to. We are miles behind on maintaining infrastructure. The life of a ferry is about 40 years, and the average age of our fleet is 33. We have a lot of vessels to replace in the next few years.”
Clarke also used graphs to explain the relationship between the price caps and fares to show the FAC that even though the November 1 fare increases were higher than the 4.4% price cap, the “weighted average fares” over the last four fiscal quarters are still within the limit.
The FAC Chairs met with Clarke and Ferry Commisioner Martin Crilly in Nanaimo in mid-November, questioning the latest round of hikes, and we got the same message. Crilly's response to our questions can be read at www.bcferrycommission.com/FACCsQandANov07_copy.pdf.
Of more significance to regular ferry users is the effort BC Ferries is making to close the gap between the one-trip cash fare and the prepaid ticket book price. As fares have risen, Clarke said, a higher percentage of ferry users have switched to the ticket books, reducing BC Ferries' actual revenue below expectations. Actual revenue per vehicle or passenger factors into the “weighted average fare” so more ridership at the prepaid rates allows BC Ferries to raise fares at more than the price cap percentage without exceeding the Commissioner's limits.
There is a “whereas” at the beginning of the Coastal Ferry Services Contract which states: “For the traveling public, fares and schedules should be predictable and consumer choice should be expanded significantly, when financially viable.” It's not entirely clear whether “when financially viable” applies to predictability, but what is certain is that we can no longer assume that our real fare increases are not going to exceed the published price cap.
Next April 1, the price cap for our route group is 4%. The following three April 1st, the cap is 5.7% plus 0.73 times the B.C. Consumer Price Index. FAC Chairs had used these numbers to calculate that we will be paying twice as much in 2010 for the same service as we paid in 2003. Now that might happen even sooner.
Until March 31, when there will be another fare increase, the cash cost of a roundtrip between Campbell River and Quadra is $23.10 for a car and driver and $6.95 for a passenger. With prepaid ticket books, those fares are $14.50 and $4.05.
The Quadra-Cortes roundtrip is $26.80 in cash for a car and driver and $8.10 for a passenger. With ticket books, it's $19.00 and $5.40. The cash fare for Campbell River-Cortes roundtrip is $49.90 for car and driver and $15.05 per passenger. With prepaid tickets, it's $33.50 and $9.45.
Rob Clarke, BC Ferries' Chief Financial Officer, attended our FAC meeting on Quadra on Friday, November 30, to explain how the cards will work and to answer questions. I emailed the following information to him after the meeting and he has confirmed that it is accurate.
To get the prepaid ticket prices after BC Ferries stops selling the paper books, we will have to get the “smart” cards and give BC Ferries specific amounts of money up front.
If we deposit exactly $75 or any multiple of $75 (i.e., $150, $225 or $300), this brainy bit of plastic, swiped through a card reader at the terminal, will recognize that you are entitled to any prepaid fare in the system and will subtract from your account the price of the trip you are about to take, providing you have a sufficient balance to cover the cost of that trip. If you don't, ante up another $75 right now.
If you only travel as a foot passenger, you can get the prepaid passenger fare by depositing $40 or any multiple of $40 (i.e., $80, $120 or $160), but if your last deposit to your account was $40 and you want to use the card to pay a vehicle fare, you will be charged the full cash fare for the car unless you put $75 on your account right then.
This may sound confusing, but it is essentially no different than buying another ticket book if you've used yours up or don't have the appropriate one. However, we will not be purchasing a specified number of trips but will be charged a dollar amount for each trip.
The good news is that the deposit amounts are considerably less than most of us are spending for ticket books now. There is no minimum balance that has to be maintained, no time limit on the use of the card and no residence requirement to have one. And the cards will give us the lower rates on any BC Ferry that currently has prepaid ticket books.
More than one card can be linked to an account so that family members, people who work for a business that pays their fares, or any group of people who want to share an account can draw on the same funds.
Although each card will have a number and be linked to an account, to protect the privacy of ferry users, it will not be necessary to have your name or any identifying information on the account. It will be possible to deposit funds to your account online with a bank transfer or credit card, by phone with a credit or debit card or by paying at the terminal.
You will also have the option of registering your account for free which will protect your funds if a card is lost or stolen and will allow you to print a trip report which you might use for a tax receipt. Registered card holders may also be able to set up an automatic transfer of funds from a bank account or credit card when their balance drops to a specified level.
BC Ferries plans an information blitz before the introduction of the cards and Clarke says terminals will have added staffing during the transition to assist customers. The change may come as early as March but might take longer. The Heriot Bay terminal is one of five in the system which will need electronic equipment to accept credit or debit card payments or process the new smart cards.
FAC members emphasized the need to install a card reader at the Campbell River waiting room so foot passengers do not have to trek to the ticket booth for boarding passes. This may not be in place when the changeover is made, but BC Ferries recognizes the need for it.
Existing paper tickets will be accepted after the cards come into play, but beginning April 1, ferry users will have to pay the difference between the value of their paper tickets and the current prepaid fare. Paper tickets sold since November 1 are stamped with a dollar value. Tickets purchased before November 1 will be worth the October 31 cost of ticket books. This effectively eliminates buying tickets just before a fare hike to avoid paying the increase.
Seniors will continue to use their Gold Cards for free passenger travel Mondays through Thursdays. Students and those with medical passes will continue to be treated as they are now.
Priority for Medical Reasons
FAC member Bob Brown, who represents Quadra Seniors, recounted several stories of people arriving at the Quathiaski Cove terminal in the private vehicles needing to get to the hospital quickly and not being given priority loading. He also suggested that doctors on Quadra going into Campbell River to see patients at the hospital and Campbell River doctors making house calls on Quadra should be given priority loading.
Senior Master Wayne Maxted responded that in medical emergencies, the ambulance always gets priority. “If a doctor sends a letter with a patient or phones the terminal requesting a medical priority,” Maxted said, “we would make every effort to assist. If someone has a letter, common courtesy would suggest they should be phoning the Campbell River terminal in advance to advise which sailing they need rather than just arrive.”
The Campbell River terminal (286-1412) can communicate with both the Quadra and Cortes ferries by phone and by radio.
BC Ferries' Vice President for Terminal Operations, Manuel Achadinha, told the meeting that BCF is discussing priority loading for doctors with the Vancouver Island Health Authority and a general policy for all ferries may be forthcoming.
Fares: How Much is Too Much
Bill Assu from the Cape Mudge Band opened our FAC meeting at the Quadra Community Centre last Friday with a comment on the hardship the higher ferry fares pose for people on fixed incomes.
He pointed out that band members own their houses but not the land that they are on and don't have the option of selling out to wealthy retirees and moving to where roads are paid for by everyone and there is no direct charge to the users.
“Not that I want to go anywhere else,” he said. “This is my home.”
Unfortunately, as CFO Rob Clarke explained to the meeting, BCF has to operate within an environment created by the Provincial Government which decides how much taxpayer funding will go to ferry service. The government also passed legislation which set up the B.C. Ferry Commission to review BCF's expenditures and projected costs and set limits on how much BCF can charge ferry users to sustain their operations.
“It's my job,” Clarke said, “to make sure we have get all the revenue we are allowed to. We are miles behind on maintaining infrastructure. The life of a ferry is about 40 years, and the average age of our fleet is 33. We have a lot of vessels to replace in the next few years.”
Clarke also used graphs to explain the relationship between the price caps and fares to show the FAC that even though the November 1 fare increases were higher than the 4.4% price cap, the “weighted average fares” over the last four fiscal quarters are still within the limit.
The FAC Chairs met with Clarke and Ferry Commisioner Martin Crilly in Nanaimo in mid-November, questioning the latest round of hikes, and we got the same message. Crilly's response to our questions can be read at www.bcferrycommission.com/FACCsQandANov07_copy.pdf.
Of more significance to regular ferry users is the effort BC Ferries is making to close the gap between the one-trip cash fare and the prepaid ticket book price. As fares have risen, Clarke said, a higher percentage of ferry users have switched to the ticket books, reducing BC Ferries' actual revenue below expectations. Actual revenue per vehicle or passenger factors into the “weighted average fare” so more ridership at the prepaid rates allows BC Ferries to raise fares at more than the price cap percentage without exceeding the Commissioner's limits.
There is a “whereas” at the beginning of the Coastal Ferry Services Contract which states: “For the traveling public, fares and schedules should be predictable and consumer choice should be expanded significantly, when financially viable.” It's not entirely clear whether “when financially viable” applies to predictability, but what is certain is that we can no longer assume that our real fare increases are not going to exceed the published price cap.
Next April 1, the price cap for our route group is 4%. The following three April 1st, the cap is 5.7% plus 0.73 times the B.C. Consumer Price Index. FAC Chairs had used these numbers to calculate that we will be paying twice as much in 2010 for the same service as we paid in 2003. Now that might happen even sooner.