OT: The OT Thread | The Thread of Destiny

[bandwagonesque]

I'm taking a ferry on Friday, rant away.

Basically the entire reason BC Ferries is so terrible and has to go to such embarrassing lengths to extract money from travellers now is a long history of really, really badly conceived capital investment decisions including but not limited to the Fast Ferries. And they had to stopped regularly from making more of them.

Source: I know some people who formerly worked there as executives.

 

[wetcoast]

Basically the entire reason BC Ferries is so terrible and has to go to such embarrassing lengths to extract money from travellers now is a long history of really, really badly conceived capital investment decisions including but not limited to the Fast Ferries. And they had to stopped regularly from making more of them.

Source: I know some people who formerly worked there as executives.

Also the new rules for # of qualified people per sailing and coivid the tight labour market isn't entirely their fault and causes issues.

That being said as an infrequent ferry traveler, maybe averaging 2 or 3 round trip per year I like the ferries and think it's a pretty good deal but then again I'm very care full with my travel plans and always reserve even when I don't really need to.

 

[bandwagonesque]

Also the new rules for # of qualified people per sailing and coivid the tight labour market isn't entirely their fault and causes issues.

That's basically the cherry on the sundae -- it was going off the rails 25 years before covid. And I'm not really talking about fares, which are very hard to raise without attracting attention. Have you ever noticed that every major terminal now has a shit ton of retail and all the food is incredibly expensive? They've also had to delay investing in other needed infrastructure, such as an adequate number of new ferries to accommodate demand. Taking the ferry used to be a comfortable and fairly relaxed experience, and it could still be today if the corporation hadn't periodically accrued massive debts funding projects with no clear use or competent oversight.

 

[wetcoast]

That's basically the cherry on the sundae -- it was going off the rails 25 years before covid. And I'm not really talking about fares, which are very hard to raise without attracting attention. Have you ever noticed that every major terminal now has a shit ton of retail and all the food is incredibly expensive? Taking the ferry used to be a comfortable and fairly relaxed experience, and it could still be today if the corporation hadn't periodically accrued massive debts funding projects with no clear use or competent oversight.

Sure not going to argue with you but there is a ton of retail and expensive food everywhere these days and there is just more people and demand and no one wants to really pay for things and then others bring up building a bridge without realizing that it would probably be even more expensive.

I say this as an older guy who is supposed tob e pisised off at everything as many of my generation seems to be falling into that old trap of back in the good old days when things really weren't all that great but mid 50s guys like to pretend a lot.

Don't get me wrong I'm always up for improvements but IMO the ferries experience is almost always really good.

But maybe I just like ferries, I sure miss the old albion ferry, although the bridge makes way more sense.

 

[credulous]

i fly 100-200k kms per year and compared to airports and planes i actually look forward to the 2-3 trips i take to the islands every summer

 

[RandV]

I think you would have a bad time if you went to take the ferry today and don't have a reservation. Or that's what my dad was saying before as he's now retired and recently made a trip to the island. Never needed a reservation before as they're supposed to hold a certain amount of spots for people with out, but they were barely letting any non-reservation people on. Kind of makes sense in the wrong sort of way, what used to be a convenient 'pay a little more to skip the line', but if enough people start doing that the companies just going to make more money and start pushing it more till it basically becomes a requirement and an additional surcharge.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

I'm curious where is the line between social ideas and politics here, asking for a political junkie so I try to not stray there but social stuff seems broad and vague enough right?

I want our political subforum back!

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I’m tempted to get back on Twitter so I can rant about BC Ferries

Took my first Ferry in almost two decades a couple of summers ago. For the most part totally fine, but MOTHER OF GOD, the state of the bathrooms…

 

[I Hart Conor Garland]

I want our political subforum back!

It moved. Got better.

 

[tradervik]

Without commenting on the politics, I can say that BC Ferries is always one mechanical failure away from complete chaos on busy days. On Sunday there was a mechanical issue that caused delays. That cascaded to a situation where there weren’t enough lanes inside the terminal and traffic backed up onto the Tswassen causeway, which created more chaos. At one point all the ticket booths showed “reservations only” and some poor sods without reservations were stuck parked to the side wondering when/where they would get a chance to queue for tickets.

 

[Hansen]

the hullo has been a godsend for me in terms of getting back and forth from vancouver to nanaimo

saves me 2+ hours each way on the commute, absolutely worth the extra 20 bucks

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I'm curious where is the line between social ideas and politics here, asking for a political junkie so I try to not stray there but social stuff seems broad and vague enough right?

Social stuff is permitted - but discussions of government, politics, politicians, political ideologies, political history, etc - is strictly off limits.

If you ever have a doubt about something you’re going to post, I’d suggest PMing a mod to bounce it off them.

Hope that helps.

 

[bandwagonesque]

Sure not going to argue with you but there is a ton of retail and expensive food everywhere these days and there is just more people and demand and no one wants to really pay for things and then others bring up building a bridge without realizing that it would probably be even more expensive.

I say this as an older guy who is supposed tob e pisised off at everything as many of my generation seems to be falling into that old trap of back in the good old days when things really weren't all that great but mid 50s guys like to pretend a lot.

Don't get me wrong I'm always up for improvements but IMO the ferries experience is almost always really good.

But maybe I just like ferries, I sure miss the old albion ferry, although the bridge makes way more sense.

I think you would have a bad time if you went to take the ferry today and don't have a reservation. Or that's what my dad was saying before as he's now retired and recently made a trip to the island. Never needed a reservation before as they're supposed to hold a certain amount of spots for people with out, but they were barely letting any non-reservation people on. Kind of makes sense in the wrong sort of way, what used to be a convenient 'pay a little more to skip the line', but if enough people start doing that the companies just going to make more money and start pushing it more till it basically becomes a requirement and an additional surcharge.

Without commenting on the politics, I can say that BC Ferries is always one mechanical failure away from complete chaos on busy days. On Sunday there was a mechanical issue that caused delays. That cascaded to a situation where there weren’t enough lanes inside the terminal and traffic backed up onto the Tswassen causeway, which created more chaos. At one point all the ticket booths showed “reservations only” and some poor sods without reservations were stuck parked to the side wondering when/where they would get a chance to queue for tickets.

This is just it. The ferries are still there and they still more or less work, but the opportunity cost of poor decisions has reduced the quality of the infrastructure and margins for the failure of that infrastructure affecting passengers. BC Ferries currently has about CDN$1.5 billion in debt secured by mortgages on almost all their vessels and terminals. This debt is expected to double in the next 4 years. And while our fares are capped, the provincial government has discretion to simply give the corporation money to cover operating expenses in the form of grants, and they were given CDN$500 million 10 months ago.

the hullo has been a godsend for me in terms of getting back and forth from vancouver to nanaimo

saves me 2+ hours each way on the commute, absolutely worth the extra 20 bucks

I keep meaning to take Hullo but haven't got around to it yet. I'm kind of waiting until bike spots are guaranteed, because if I'm not in my car I'm usually on a bike.

 

[Hansen]

This is just it. The ferries are still there and they still more or less work, but the opportunity cost of poor decisions has reduced the quality of the infrastructure and margins for the failure of that infrastructure affecting passengers. BC Ferries currently has about CDN$1.5 billion in debt secured by mortgages on almost all their vessels and terminals. This debt is expected to double in the next 4 years. And while our fares are capped, the provincial government has discretion to simply give the corporation money to cover operating expenses in the form of grants, and they were given CDN$500 million 10 months ago.

I keep meaning to take Hullo but haven't got around to it yet. I'm kind of waiting until bike spots are guaranteed, because if I'm not in my car I'm usually on a bike.

The lack of bike spots is frustrating but I think its only a matter of time. Fortunately Ive got lots of family on the Nanaimo side and if Im in a pinch its a quick cab ride to where I stay.

Im really hoping that they expand and do a Victoria-Vancouver downtown to downtown service as well, that would be a game changer

 

[F A N]

i fly 100-200k kms per year and compared to airports and planes i actually look forward to the 2-3 trips i take to the islands every summer

Hopefully not in economy class.

 

[Hodgy]

I find two things to be extremely annoying regarding reservations for BC Ferries:

1. you need to get there 30 minutes before departure. I get that they need to board for some time before departure, but 30 minutes seems excessive. The whole point of a reservation is that you don't have to f***ing wait in line a long time, and with a 30 minute requirement, plus a 15 minute buffer or whatever or build in so you don't miss your reservation, you are basically at the terminal 45 minutes before which is f***ing dumb when you are paying for a reservation; and

2) BC Ferries has taken the position that if you are not at the gate at least 30 minutes before your departure time you lose your reservation, which means if there gates are way backed up onto the road or whatever because they are incompetent and can't manage the flow you may lose your reservation notwithstanding that you actually arrived 30 minutes before. Stupid.

A very interesting but totally different experience is Washington's ferries. They are way cheaper to run and operate as I understand mainly because they are are just running really old ferries from the 50s. But these ferries seem to run fine and on time (from my limited experience). They definitely don't have the same amenities on board but at probably half the cost to operate or whatever it seems like a good tradeoff. Kind of goes back to what @bandwagonesque was saying about the current issues all being driven by large capital expenditure fails.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Social stuff is permitted - but discussions of government, politics, politicians, political ideologies, political history, etc - is strictly off limits.

If you ever have a doubt about something you’re going to post, I’d suggest PMing a mod to bounce it off them.

Hope that helps.

IDK if I'm allowed to throw this out or, but there used to be a dark forum on the site where IIRC you could post, with no moderation and your post count wouldn't go up. It was kinda like HF in name only.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Saw an ad for Rub-A535 and thought it looked like it read Rub Ass.

Been laughing non stop for 20mins.

Wife thinks I’m an idiot.

 

[StrictlyCommercial]

IDK if I'm allowed to throw this out or, but there used to be a dark forum on the site where IIRC you could post, with no moderation and your post count wouldn't go up. It was kinda like HF in name only.

That no longer exists. There is a successor which I can share via PM if anyone is interested.

 

[Jyrki]

I find two things to be extremely annoying regarding reservations for BC Ferries:

1. you need to get there 30 minutes before departure. I get that they need to board for some time before departure, but 30 minutes seems excessive. The whole point of a reservation is that you don't have to f***ing wait in line a long time, and with a 30 minute requirement, plus a 15 minute buffer or whatever or build in so you don't miss your reservation, you are basically at the terminal 45 minutes before which is f***ing dumb when you are paying for a reservation; and

2) BC Ferries has taken the position that if you are not at the gate at least 30 minutes before your departure time you lose your reservation, which means if there gates are way backed up onto the road or whatever because they are incompetent and can't manage the flow you may lose your reservation notwithstanding that you actually arrived 30 minutes before. Stupid.

A very interesting but totally different experience is Washington's ferries. They are way cheaper to run and operate as I understand mainly because they are are just running really old ferries from the 50s. But these ferries seem to run fine and on time (from my limited experience). They definitely don't have the same amenities on board but at probably half the cost to operate or whatever it seems like a good tradeoff. Kind of goes back to what @bandwagonesque was saying about the current issues all being driven by large capital expenditure fails.

The reservation is more to ensure a place on a sailing. In the larger ferries it typically takes half an hour to fully disembark, and then load cargo, vehicles and passengers for the next sailing. So once the reservation line is through, they start letting in cars that are waiting until they hit capacity. Logistically speaking, someone with a reservation should already be lined up once a ferry docks. Vehicles are basically coming in and out of ferries nonstop so it's not like BC Ferries is slacking on how fast they let people in.

 

[I Hart Conor Garland]

How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Alien: Romulus finally hit the theater up here in my corner of “middle of nowhere”. My teenaged son and I went to see it and had a great time. A couple of moments that didn’t land, but still the best movie in the series since Aliens in 1986, IMO. Would recommend.

 

[Jerry the great]

Alien: Romulus finally hit the theater up here in my corner of “middle of nowhere”. My teenaged son and I went to see it and had a great time. A couple of moments that didn’t land, but still the best movie in the series since Aliens in 1986, IMO. Would recommend.

can you watch it as a one off, or does it require knowing the full backstory?

 

[EpochLink]

That no longer exists. There is a successor which I can share via PM if anyone is interested.

I know it as well, anyone interested send us a PM

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

can you watch it as a one off, or does it require knowing the full backstory?

I do believe you could watch it as a one off. There’s callbacks and things that reference the previous movies that make sense if you’ve seen them - but I think the movie is self contained enough that a newcomer can jump in without being lost and/or having to do homework.