by Glenn Nelles Since I last wrote to the editor of the Peak about my inability to understand the thinking of those who operate our ferry system [“Taken for a ride,” April 27], I have also written to BC Ferries to find out why it charges more for a ticket from Horseshoe Bay to Saltery Bay than the trip in the opposite direction.
Their lengthy reply, in short, said that they did not determine what is called “the service fees,” which is apparently the difference between toll revenue and operating costs. From there it all got so complicated I could barely understand it, except that, thank heavens, we are protected from price gouging by the BC Ferry Commissioner.
Following a further link online I discovered that fares are overseen and regulated by an independent regulator, who actually is the BC Ferry Commissioner, which is all well and fine, but the commissioner does not deal with customer complaints, so I was referred back to BC Ferries. This is about as effective as poking yourself in the eye with your finger.
In the meantime, BC Ferries has added a fuel surcharge of 2.5 per cent on all routes, except for the minor routes, including the three serving Powell River. They will be treated to a 5 per cent fuel surcharge. I am not even going to write to BC Ferries or the BC Ferry Commissioner about this, because I know what the reason is. It is technical, and you have to know something about navigation and seawater, but I will simplify it as much as possible.
First, the short routes served by BC Ferries are all slightly uphill in both directions. You know how you can watch a ship headed for the horizon and it eventually disappears? That is because it has reached the top of the hill and is now going down the other side. So the longer routes can take advantage of this phenomenon and save fuel on the downward slope. Unfortunately, our routes are too short, so there is no coasting down the other side, sorry.
The second cause for the higher fares is that, and many people do not know this, the salt water on the routes we travel is closer to the land and is thicker. It is believed that less agitation and more fish and gunk in the water causes this, but in any case it takes those darn engines a lot of heaving to get through it, therefore using more fuel. Again, sorry to report all this, but facts are facts.
Right now the commissioner is considering a price cap review to regulate fares from 2012 to 2016 and is busy with tools and models and caps figuring it out. My guess is that there is going to be an astronomic increase in fares around Christmas this year, and another one after New Year’s 2017, but perhaps I am being cynical.
Glenn Nelles is a retired former businessman and long-time resident of Powell River.
