06-11-22 bimfac minutes - bc ferries · amar johal reported on the federal government initiative to...

Ferry Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

Bowen Island Municipality Ferry Advisory Committee Minutes of 5 Meeting Date: November 22, 2006

Meeting Details: FAC: Bowen Island Ferry Advisory Committee Date: November 22, 2006 Location: Horseshoe Bay Boardroom Time: 5:35 p.m.

Attendees: Committee BC Ferries Chair, Gil Yaron

Captain Barry (Steve) Graham Marine Superintendent Central Coast

Doug Elliot Ian Downie Terminal Director, Horseshoe Bay

Trish Jacquet Amar Johal Director, Sales and Community Relations

Alison Morse Gary Leitch Manager, Stakeholder Relations & Consultation

Terry Cotter Betsy Terpsma Manager, Community Relations

Bob Lalonde Captain Dave Woodman Senior Master, Queen of Capilano

2 Observers: Jacqueline Massey, Undercurrent Member of Public

Chris Morris Terminal Manager, Horseshoe Bay and Langdale

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.

2. Introductions: Round table introductions were completed.

3. Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved without changes.

4. Correspondence: There was no correspondence.

5. Presentations: The Marine Superintendent’s Operations Report prompted a discussion around traffic and overloads, and the planned 2007 refit and installation of the new propulsion system on the Queen of Capilano.


6. Minutes of Previous Meeting – Review of Action Items from April 26, 2006

a. BC Ferries Traffic Study/Statistics Betsy Terpsma did provide some excel worksheets with traffic statistics to the former chair.

Action: Betsy Terpsma will get additional traffic statistics for the route from Operations and send out to the committee.

b. Feedback on Coast Cards This item is on the agenda for further discussion.

c. Customers to allow extra time during construction Ian Downie commented that extra time is still required for construction and this will be ongoing throughout the Sea to Sky Highway project. February to May 2007 is the planned timeframe for the flyover construction.

d. Queen of Capilano Refit The Queen of Capilano refit and installation of the new propulsion system is planned for February 19 to April 5, 2007. The Bowen Queen will be the replacement vessel. The committee suggested that BC Ferries may want to augment morning commuter rush sailings with water taxi service if the Bowen Queen is close to reaching license levels. The committee would also like BC Ferries to work with Impark to see if a special parking rate would be possible during the refit. It is important for BC Ferries to get information out to Bowen Island customers as soon as possible about the refit date.

Action: Ian Downie to talk to Impark to see if a special rate can be implemented during the Queen of Capilano refit period.

Action: Betsy Terpsma to post a service notice on the refit as soon as possible.

e. BC Ferries to meet with Mayor and Council to outline formal agreement required for new intermediate vessel Amar Johal reported that BC Ferries completed an informal meeting with the Mayor and other Bowen Island representatives. Items discussed included marshalling at Snug Cove, options for length based pricing, and the idea of a terminal improvement fee to assist the Bowen Island Municipality to make Snug Cove improvements.

f. BC Ferries to look at making summer schedule effective year round There was a further discussion of the year round schedule for the Bowen Island vessel. This change to be made in the spring 2007 with the Ministry of Transportation and to be in effect for the fall, winter, spring schedule.

Action: BC Ferries will move forward with making the summer schedule effective year round. Captain Graham will follow-up with a confirmation letter about the proposed schedule change to the BIMFAC.

g. FAC to look at ways to improve short notice customer communication on Bowen Island This item is on the agenda for further discussion.


h. Temporary displays on vessel This item is still outstanding. BC Ferries pointed out that space is limited on the vessel and any permanent displays must follow regulations and standards. The time to plan displays or changes to the posters is prior to refit. The committee asked why the Islands Trust Water Smart posters never arrived on the Queen of Capilano.

Action: Gary Leitch to follow-up on whereabouts the Water Smart posters designated for the Bowen Island vessel.

7. New Business:

a. Emergency Communications with Bowen Island Customers

There was a discussion on improving communications to Bowen Island customers especially in the case of major service interruptions. Isabell Hadford from Bowen Island Municipality had made a number of suggestions including using the Municipality 24/7 pager system after hours to report service interruptions. Improvement needs to be made for customers waiting at the Horseshoe Bay Terminal as well as for customers at Snug Cove, especially for customers waiting in their vehicles.

Five major suggestions were made:

1. BC Ferries staff to include the Municipality and/or the Municipal Emergency Line in the checklist of procedures in case of an interruption of service.

2. BC Ferries media relations or community relations manager to call radio stations: CKNW; CKWX and CBC to advise of service interruptions.

3. BC Ferries to explore a recorded message on the Horseshoe Bay Terminal phone line to give customers additional information, especially after switchboard is closed for the evening.

4. When possible BC Ferries to send a staff member to Snug Cove to advise customers of service interruptions.

5. A service notice on the BC Ferries web site to be posted as soon as possible and updated on a frequent basis as new information becomes available.

Action: Betsy Terpsma to put together a checklist of communications actions starting with the existing Horseshoe Bay Terminal Manager’s list and including suggestions from the Municipality and the FAC members.

b. Pricing discussion (length based pricing options)

Bowen Island council would like to explore a length based pricing option for vehicles on Route 8. The Bowen Island council feels this is the right thing to pursue from both a transport demand perspective and a climate change perspective. BC Ferries including David Hahn, discussed this option with the Mayor in their earlier meeting. BC Ferries is willing to look at length based pricing options as long as it is revenue neutral for the company. BC Ferries would need to look at the mechanics of this pricing option, for instance how would vehicles be measured accurately and efficiently? Could the costs of a study be covered with a transportation fee?


Gary Leitch stated that Grant Bierlmeier BC Ferries new Manager of Pricing and Revenue Performance needs to be included in the discussion. Cathy Miller from the Ministry of Transportation indicated in a recent discussion with FAC chairs that there may be funding outside of BC Ferries (perhaps through the Ministry of Environment) for a study. It was pointed out by committee members that this is a larger issue than just Bowen Island, but Bowen Island is interested in moving the background work on length based pricing forward. BIMFAC members suggested a modest cost analysis to start in order to identify the cost/revenue potential.

Action: Gary Leitch to discuss the concept of length based pricing with George Capacci (Vice President, Fleet Operations) and Manual Achadinha (Vice President, Terminal Operations) to see how BC Ferries and the Bowen Island Committee might best move forward.

c. Snug Cover Update and Working Group on Transportation

Alison Morse reported that Transportation Working Group has completed the Snug Cove Action Plan and Terms of Reference. They have been working on a decision for marshalling at Snug Cove and will be reporting out to the larger community at the December 11, Bowen Island Municipal council meeting. Further details available on the Bowen Island web site: www.bimbc.ca. The Bowen Island Transportation Master Plan (Opus Study) has also been completed and is available on the website.

d. FAC Terms of Reference

There is no conflict between BC Ferries and BIMFAC terms of Reference from the BC Ferries perspective.

Action: The committee will revisit the Bowen Island terms of reference sent out by BC Ferries and make any suggested changes to Gary Leitch.

e. Performance Term Two – Coastal Ferry Services Contract

Amar Johl advised the committee that BC Ferries filed its report on the costs of service in the second performance term with the BC Ferry Commission on September 30. He advised that BC Ferries would work with the FACs to assist them in determining what interventions they wished to make with respect to future service levels. Critical dates and roles of participants in the process on determining the service levels for the second performance term were outlined. Action: BC Ferries will meet with all FACs between now and March 31 to assist FACs to articulate their service requirements for the next performance term. The next joint BC Ferries and Bowen Island FAC meeting on the second performance term is tentatively planned for early December. Gary Leitch will be liaising with committee chair Gil Yaron on date and location.

f. Coast Card Update

Amar Johal presented an update on the development of the Coast Card platform and associated products. There may be an opportunity to test the card on Bowen


Island. Committee members asked if potential corporate savings from this product would be passed along to customers. How do you entice customers to use the new product? If it offers greater speed when loading or assist in counting passengers it may be more appealing. BC Ferries will be doing research to find the best product for BC Ferries and for our customers.

g. Tax Deductible Commuter Card

Amar Johal reported on the Federal Government initiative to develop a program to allow tax credits for ‘monthly commuter passes’. BC Ferries will develop a product to meet federal requirements. In the future this product will likely be presented on the Coast Card platform but in the short term will be a paper based product. Amar Johal noted that the monthly pass product is expected to be out to customers in January, 2007. BC Ferries does not know the price of the product yet. However it will be targeted to high volume customers.

Action: BC Ferries will keep the committee advised as more information becomes available from federal government and BC Ferries.

h. Northern Vessels – Information (Attached)

Amar Johal presented information on plans for Northern service.

8. Next meeting: The next full committee meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2007. Trish Jacquet to explore a school board meeting with committee members and BC Ferries representatives to discuss student issues in the December to January timeframe.

9. Meeting adjourned: At 8:00 p.m. Approved:

Captain Steve Graham, Marine Superintendent Date: December 5, 2006

Gil Yaron, Chair Date: December 20 , 2006

Attachments:

1. Operations Report

2. Coast Card

3. CRA Commuter Card

4. 2nd Performance Term

5. Terms of Reference

6. Northern Vessel Update

Operations Report

Operations Report

Bowen Island Municipality Ferry Advisory CommitteeNovember 22, 2006

Table of Contents

TrafficMajor Service IssuesVessel UpdateTerminal UpdateOperations Action Item from April 26, 2006 Corporate UpdateQuestions

Traffic

Vehicle Traffic – Month to Month Comparison

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

Janu

aryFe

bruary

March

April

MayJu

ne July

Augus

tSep

tembe

rOcto

ber

Novem

ber

Decem

ber

05/06 Vehicles

06/07 Vehicles

Traffic

Passenger Traffic – Month to Month Comparison

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Janu

ary

Febr

uary

Mar

ch

Apr

il

May

June July

Augu

st

Sep

tem

ber

Oct

ober

Nov

embe

r

Dec

embe

r

05/06 Passengers

06/07 Passengers

Traffic

Combined Traffic – Month to Month Comparison

Month05/06 Vehicles

06/07 Vehicles

05/06 Passengers

06/07 Passengers

January 38,211 41,420 85,799 87,814

February 39,174 39,876 87,906 85,406

March 44,264 43,956 99,460 93,129

April 45,008 44,620 100,083 99,380

May 49,214 47,691 112,396 108,828

June 47,651 48,361 108,609 112,533

July 49,922 49,491 122,897 123,902

August 51,656 50,666 129,109 129,818

September 46,117 45,305 108,333 106,894

October 43,100 45,811 93,526 100,894

November 41,516 89,116

December 41,741 89,512

Major Service Issues

On Time Performance

CENTRAL COAST - Route 8

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

% o

f Sai

lings

With

in 1

0 M

ins

ofS

ched

uled

Sai

ling

Tim

e05/06 Rt 8

06/07 Rt 8

Significant improvement in on time performance due to a reduction in mechanical, procedural and traffic delays on Route 8 between Aug/05 and Aug/06 (460 vs. 260 traffic delays).

Overall percentage increase in on time performance from 52.4% in Aug/05 to 73.4% in Aug/06.

To the end of the second quarter, on time performance has improved from 72.8% in 05/06 to 78.4% in 06/07.

Major Service Issues

Cancelled Sailings

Spring and Summer 2006 - No Major Service Issues:Sunday, May 14 one round trip cancelled – ramp adjustments, vessel late.June – September no cancelled sailings.Thursday, Oct. 26 one cancelled round trip due to a mechanical delay, vessel late.

Month of November, 2006:Sunday, Nov. 6 from 8:05 p.m. sailing until Tuesday, Nov. 8, 6:05 a.m. sailing Queen of Capilano out of service due to propulsion system malfunction near dock at Horseshoe Bay. Anchors fouled. Water taxi service provided and Bowen Queen sailed from Salt Spring to resume service at 4:35 pm on Monday, Nov. 7.Friday, Nov. 10 one missed round trip due to a power outage in Snug Cove.Sunday, Nov. 12 four afternoon round trips cancelled after the vessel hit a log close to the dock in Horseshoe Bay causing damage to the Right Angle Drive and oil spill into Horseshoe Bay.Wednesday, Nov. 15 sailings cancelled from 10:05 a.m. to 6:35 p.m. due to extreme weather conditions, high winds. Water taxi service provided in the afternoon after conditions improved.

Vessel Update

Queen of Capilano refit and propulsion system change planned for February 19 – April 5, 2007.Bowen Queen to be the replacement vessel.

Terminal Update

Horseshoe Bay Terminal

Berth closures September – June at Horseshoe Bay Terminal Berth one and two to be upgraded to prepare for the arrival of the New

Super C-class vessels late in 2007Approx. $14 M investmentWork includes:

demolition of old marine structures modifying wing walls constructing new dolphins upgrading the foot passenger walkways building a new flow deflector wall adjacent to Sewell’s Marina upgrading the electrical sub-station feeding the berths with shore power

Action Item

Operations Action Item from April 26, 2006 BIMFAC

BC Ferries to look at making summer schedule effective year round.

This is possible under the Coastal Ferry Services Contract.

BC Ferries requires a written request from the BIMFAC.

Corporate Update

M.V. Sonia - Queen of the North Replacement

Three new Super C-class vessels Rtes 2 and 1

New Build – Queen of Prince Rupert Replacement.

New Intermediate Vessel - 125 car ferry, Queen of Tsawwassen replacement

M.V. Kuper – 32 car ferry, for the gulf islands

MV Kuper at Allied Shipyards Friday, Nov. 3

Seven new vessels to be added to fleet:

Questions

Ferry Advisory Committee Terms of Reference

Draft terms of reference

Attempt to create a simple generic terms of referenceBC Ferries recognizes the unique nature of each areaTherefore expect feedback on how these may need to be modified to suit your situationPlease advise [email protected] by Nov 30 for desired modifications

mailto:[email protected]

2nd Performance Term:Roles, Process, Schedule

Second Performance Term

The changes to the Second Performance Term are defined in the Coastal Ferry Act (CFA) and the Coastal Ferry Services Contract (CFSC)− As per the CFA, the British Columbia Ferries Commissioner

(BC Ferry Commissioner) must determine the Price Cap (the amount that BC Ferries can charge for tariffs) for each route group

− As per the CFSC, the Province must make a determination of the following:

Establishment of core service levels to be provided on each routeEstablishment of Provincial service fees for each route

− The next performance term (a 4 year period) begins April 1, 2008 and ends March 31, 2012

Roles

Commissioner Province BC Ferries FAC

Sets price capSets Service Levels Sets Service Fees

By Sept 30, submits information to the Commissioner that will assist the Commissioner in establishing price caps for each route group

Advocate your community's views to your MLA, the Province and the BC Ferries Commissioner

PRICE CAP

The price cap is a ceiling on the average tariffs that BC Ferries can charge for a route groupCommissioner must set the price cap at a level that ensures BC Ferries earns a return to remain financially viable and is able to make necessary capital investmentsThe price cap will be higher or lower depending on what the provincial government decides are appropriate:− service levels; and− service fees

Roles

Price Cap

Service Levels Service Fees

Set by Commissioner

Set by Province

Key Dates and Roles of Participants

Sept 30 2006 BC Ferries files a price cap submission with the BC Ferry CommissionerApril 1 2007 BC Ferry Commissioner publishes preliminary report to the BC Government and BC Ferries indicating the price cap assuming current service fees and service levelsBC Government determines changes to service fees and/or service levels, if any June 30 2007 BC Ferries provides report to the BC Ferry Commissioner indicating changes to either core service levels and service fees, if anySept 30 2007 BC Ferry Commissioner issues final price cap for Performance Term 2

BC Ferries’ Role

BC Ferries provide price cap submission to the BC Ferry Commissioner – September 30− Estimate assumes the cost of delivering the same core

service levels and service fees for the years 2008-2012

BC Ferries to hold FAC meetings to explain the process and the schedule

BC Ferries provides information to assist communities and FACs develop their positions for discussion with the provincial government and the commissioner

The FACs’ role

Decide what is desirable from your perspective

Discuss this with your community

Meet with the BC Ferry Commissioner to discuss process

Reach consensus if possible

Articulate your views to your MLA and the Provincial Government

Share your views with the BC Ferry Commissioner

Process

BC Ferries briefs FACs – fall 2006

BC Ferries meets with FACs to provide information to assist FACs and others to understand the possible implications of any service changes the FACs may desire

FACs articulate their views to the government & to the BC Ferry Commissioner

Provincial Government Contacts

Mr. John Dyble, Deputy Minister of [email protected] 250 387-3280Ministry of Transportation970 Blanshard St, Victoria V8W 3E6Liz Kenny – Executive Coordinator

Ms. Kathie Miller, Assistant Deputy Minister of [email protected] 250 387-5062

Ms. Nancy Merston, Director, Marine Branch,Ministry of [email protected] 250 356-0297




Questions?????

Coast Card Platform

Products

AssuredLoadingTickets

PrepaidDiscountTickets

MonthlyPass

Product

Ferry$ TBD

• Coast Card is an intelligent service delivery platform (smart card based system)• Intelligence is not based in the card - back end systems have all of the intelligence• Provides an efficient delivery mechanism to put products into customers hands.

Prepaid Discount Tickets

Summary of Consultation

March – June 2006

BC Ferries meets with 11 Ferry Advisory Committees specific to Pre-Paid Discount Tickets

Committees provide feedback on features of proposed program

Committees suggest extensions of program to provide different products

Summary of Consultation

Issues raised during discussion

Potential introduction of expiry date on Prepaid Tickets (loss of unused trips)Non-transferability, particularly to cohabiting family membersPrivacy issuesGroup Travel

Proposed Features of Pre-paid Discount Tickets

Expiry date ??????Transferability – Coast Card Platform is designed to allow this feature.No community is forced to initially accept Plastic Pre-paid Discount TicketsCo-existence of plastic and paper media for a timeThreshold for plastic conversion??????Project is ‘piloted’ on a route with large number of commuters to test systems and uptake by users.Privacy protected as per current Privacy LegislationLoss protection IF registeredAuto re-loading feature

Proposed implementation Schedule & Process

Further IT development work required

Market research on Pre-paid Discount Ticket usage and features –6 months

Route specific pilot project

Remediate any issues identified

Roll out to other routes on a route by route basis as resources allow

Conclusion Prepaid Discount Tickets

Monthly Pass Product

Canada Revenue Announcement

Federal government announced a new transit tax credit as part of the May 2006 budget. Local ferry travel is included in the types of public transit that is covered under the credit. BC Ferries has been in discussions with the Department of Finance in Ottawa about how customers may benefit from this credit.BC Ferries is seeking more details from the federal government and will update customers and ferry advisory committees when more information is available.

Canada Revenue – some details

The new transit tax credit will apply to the cost of public transit passes effective July 1, 2006.The types of public transit that will be covered by the credit include travel by bus, streetcar, subway, commuter train, commuter bus and local ferry.Individuals making claims will be required to retain their receipts or monthly passes for tax verification purposes. As BC Ferries offers pre-paid discount tickets, not monthly passes, we are in discussions with CRA on how our customers can qualify for the credit.The federal budget proposed to allow individuals to claim a non-refundable tax credit of 15.25 percent for 2006 and 15.5 percent for subsequent years.

Monthly Pass

BC Ferries is currently developing a monthly pass productAdditional legislative clarification from CRA requiredExpect pricing and features will be different than Prepaid TicketsTargeted to frequent high volume commuters

Northern Vessel - Information

In August BCF announces that a contract has been awarded to construct a new vessel to replace the Queen of Prince Rupert. This ship is expected to enter service in the spring of 2009.

On September 18th BCF announces the purchase of the replacement vessel for the Queen of the North – MV Sonia

− Vessel is 2 years old and currently in Spain

− Cost for the MV Sonia $50,600,000

− Will be in service for the busy 2007 summer season


Vessel will undergo $9,000,000 in extensive modifications at the Victoria Shipyards starting mid December to improve customer amenities and meet safety requirements to operate in Canadian waters.

Ship modification work to be undertaken includes:•Mechanical work on main engines and auxiliary systems•Change to Canadian registry•Modification to stern ramp to become compatible with BC Ferries’docks•New lifejackets, fire hoses and monitoring cameras•Car deck upgrades to accommodate higher loading capacity •Expansion and reconfiguration of galley and food service area•New seating•Expansion of washrooms•Relocation and expansion of giftshop


MV SONIA VESSEL SPECIFICATIONS:MV Sonia

Year Build 2004Gross Tonnage 9,925Length Overall 117 metresBreadth 20 metresDepth 7.2 metresMaximum Draft 4.7 metresEngine Output 16,000 kW at 750 rpm# of Passengers 600+# of Vehicles 101# of Cabins 70Speed 20.3 knotsDamage Stability Two compartment

MV Sonia

Northern Vessel - Summary

Queen of Prince Rupert -refit 2007

Queen of Chilliwack -

MV Sonia – April 2007

New Build – 2009

06-11-22 bimfac minutes - bc ferries · amar johal reported on the federal government initiative to...

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