Saturday, October 09, 2010

Is BC Ferries Squeezing Cabs and Buses?

Cabbies wait to see if passengers can find them at Brechin Boat ramp.

Shows the terminal and cab pick up area, these locations are hidden from each other by the typography of the area.
Cabs are hidden from view behind the Ocean Cement Plant.
BC Ferry/Cab Situation At Departure Bay Needs Solution

If BC Ferries is trying to discourage people from walking on and off the ferry preferring them to use their cars, they are going about it the right way.

The cab pick up situation at Departure Bay Terminal is appalling and if BC Ferries can't solve the problem then the government needs to step up to the plate and fix this matter.

After years and years of allowing cabs to drop off and pick up passengers at the Departure Bay Terminal the bean counters at BC Ferries decided they could squeeze a few more bucks from their passengers by charging cabs for the privilege of picking up fares at the terminal.

They felt that charging the two cab companies $9,000 each per year to pick up passengers was fair compensation, the cab companies simply don't feel they could afford the $18,000 total and offered the Ferry Corp. $7,200 per year for both companies. Ferries refused the offer and started to enforce their 'no pick up for free' policy.

Welcome To Nanaimo

When you arrive in Nanaimo at Departure Bay if you are expecting to be able to hail a cab like you can in most modern cities, you are simply out of luck. If you want to call a cab to pick you up at the terminal, you are also out of luck. If you happen to spot a cab unloading a passenger and want to jump into that cab, you are also out of luck.

No sir, if you want to use a cab you will have to drag yourself and luggage across the parking lot to the other side of the Ocean Cement Plant to where the cabs are parked in the Brechin Point boat ramp, which is totally out of view from the terminal. Don't expect the BC Ferry staff to be terribly helpful either in your quest for a cab.

If however, you raise enough noise with the Ferry Staff you can get a ride in their little white auto, but apparently they don't actually offer this as a service, it is only available if you raise enough of a stink.
Ferries vehicle sometimes shuttles passengers to cab area, but only if you really complain.

Ferries Also Blamed For Reduced Bus Service

Nanaimo residents have just found out they can no longer use the Greyhound Coach Line service to Vancouver if they want to use the bus and ferry for a day trip to Vancouver.

The bus company has previously been running six trips daily to Vancouver which they wish to reduce to only two daily. In fact they have already reduced their trips to two daily see this Nanaimo Info article. As a reason for requesting to reduce their service to Vancouver the bus company says:

After considerable reflection and analysis, GCTU concluded that BC Ferries demands were unreasonable. Accordingly, it has decided to apply to the PT Board to drop four of six daily schedules in each direction between Vancouver and Nanaimo. The amended operating schedule, post application approval, is attached as Schedule F. (Full document can be seen using this LINK.)

It would seem that in both of these cases the BC Ferry Corporation is attempting to raise a few more dollars from their customers without actually appearing to be charging them anything extra. After all, any increased charges to taxi or bus companies will sooner or later be born by the customers of those companies.

The corporation seems to have forgotten they are primarily supposed to be in the business of providing a service for the travelling public and in both of these cases, it would appear that for the sake of a few more dollars, they are doing their customers a great dis-service.

If you think the Ferry Corporation should re-think their policy on these matters, particularly with the taxi companies (if they accepted the $7200 offered, they would be $7,200 ahead), then let the mayor and council hear about it, let your MLA and your MP know about it. These are the only forces that can make a huge monolith like the BC Ferry Corp re-think this bad decision.

Contact information for MP's, MLA's, Mayor and council can be found on the right hand side of this blog. Simply scroll down the right hand column.

allvoices

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