By the time this paper is published and delivered, chairs of Ferry Advisory Committees from coastal communities will have met in person, in Vancouver. Holbrook, says these meetings are about swapping notes (although notes are swapped constantly via email) and finding common objectives. However, with the very unique circumstances faced by Bowen Island, Holbrook says he mostly takes these meetings as a learning opportunity.
“When the Ministry of Transportation looks at BC Ferries, they divide things up into two categories: the routes that make money, which are basically the two ferries that run to Vancouver Island, and the routes that don’t. You could also divide things up by looking at the southern Gulf Islands, which are heavy for tourism and people who have second homes, and the northern regions, which are resource-based and rural. As a commuter community, we are fairly unique. Gabriola is comparable, but there is one big difference: people live on Gabriola because they want the island lifestyle. On Bowen, many people live here because they can’t afford to live in Vancouver.”
Holbrook adds that Bowen’s proximity to Vancouver means that our transportation system is more than simply a function of BC Ferries service.
“We do have alternatives in terms of making changes to the services we get, and that includes Translink, whose contract for Bowen comes up for renewal on Jan 1, 2015,” says Holbrook. “And when we are looking at this upcoming mid-life upgrade for the Queen of Capilano, there are a range of measures that could be taken to mitigate the reduction in services we’ll face at that time. If they are done well, we can hope that those measures stay in place long after the refit is complete.”
The chairs of the Ferry Advisory Committees will also be meeting with the Commissioner of BC Ferries and the new Assistant Deputy Minister of Transportation, Deborah Bowman.
“In 2003, BC Ferries and the Province signed a 60 year contract for the provision of ferry services. This comes under review every four years, and we are now going into the fourth such negotiation. Essentially, BC Ferries will propose something, and the government will counter by wanting to pay as little as possible for it. The Commissioner is supposed to represent the consumer, but it doesn’t quite work that way as all three are very tightly knit. What we would like is for the Commissioner to recommend various management evaluations. We’re interested in trying to pin down what that might look like.”
BC Ferries follows this set of meetings with their annual general meeting, scheduled for August 22.
