A Christmas present

David Hahn is leaving BC Ferries by year end, this has Hahn`s fingerprints all over it..

A farewell gift from hahn to BCers..

In other words David Hahn is saying to you..

Fuck off you bunch of suckers, I have $2000 a day pension for life, and you have been had people..

Thank you Gordon Campbell and all BC Liberals, see ya in Maui Gordo.

How come people "just don't

How come people "just don't get it"? BC Ferries is broke. They are only paying the interest (@10%)on the $1.6 billion that they owe to the German banks. David Hahn did what he was hired on to do; to run BC Ferries into the ground (pun intended). What pisses me off is the mass-media isn't reporting this. David Hahn would go on Bill Good's program and to both of them, everything is wonderful.

"Free" BC Ferries!

BC Ferries that run in coastal areas should be viewed as part of the highway system & be as free of tolls & fees as almost all BC highways are, & as free as are interior Ferries across the Fraser River, etc. Why should BC mainland & other non-Vancouver Island residents be forced to pay huge ferry fees in order to visit their province's capital, for instance? If almost all BC highways are without tolls or fees, so should all BC ferries.

Very simple

Gaglardi set the example by upgrading highways where people voted Socred.
So, here we have Vancouver Island where people tend to vote NDP, and hence do not merit any favours.
In spite of all the jokes, I believe that anyone who can run a limonade stand could have done a better job than that Hahn character did.

WAC's vision has been lost!

Too bad that the BC Liberals and Hahn haven't got a clue about WAC Bennett's vision about BC Ferries as being part of the highway system. All of the money spent on the German ferries - lost to the province; high volume of passengers - lost due to high ferry fares. When you make the cost of riding ferries too high as has happened, the people just won't ride them. This equals lower volume, and less money for BC Ferries and the businesses who would benefit from more people using the ferries. No vision, just greed on Hahn's part.

more than vision lost...

I think they have also lost their minds over there at bc ferries.
Any sane person can see that the reason they're losing money is that they're pricing themselves out of the market... Any sane business person would backtrack and start repairing the damage by lowering prices to encourage sales - instead of raising them to make up the losses...

It's beyond comprehension that they don't GET that. Do they honestly think we'll all just stand by and take it? Have they not put the pieces together to notice we take the ferry LESS every time they do this??

http://www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/return-bc-ferries-to-public-control/55

Perspective

After reading through the comments, I'd say a little perspective is in order...

First off, I don't think that CEO of BC Ferries is worth a million bucks a year. And I think David Hahn is what he seems to be - an American free-enterpriser who has little respect for the workers.

However, I'd also say that I wouldn't want to be the CEO of BC Ferries, even for a million bucks a year. Running a ferry operation is a tough business. It's capital intensive and most of your costs are beyond your control (price of fuel, cost of borrowing, collective agreement). Margins are razor thin. Worst of all, of the hundreds of thousands of customers and 4.5 million shareholders, it's hard to find 2 who have the same vision of what your company should be. No matter what you do, there will be plenty of people in the peanut gallery to toss cheap shots.

When economic times are tough, fare income is down. When economic times are good, income is up but the cost of fuel goes through the roof.

So, Alive, if you think it's easy, I'd say come back and talk to us after you've tried it.

Those of you who think that ferries should be free like highways should know that all routes except the main routes are subsidized, many of them heavily so.

Van Isle, please read the annual report before you spout nonsense like BC Ferries is paying 10% interest. They are paying about 6% interest on long term bonds. And they aren't paying it to German banks, unless the German banks bought their bonds. Of course, if the Liberals had left it as a crown corporation, it would have qualified for the same interest rates as the province.

somethingelse, if you think they should just lower fares, go check out the margins and figure out how much they can lower fares before going into the red. In the summer particularly, sailings are often sold out. If you lower fares, you won't be able to haul more people so the corp will just lose money.

Sorry, people, you won't get something for nothing. If you want cheaper ferry fares, you have to convince the rest of the tax payers that they should pay for you

one more thing

If you think that ferry fares are too high, you should do some comparison shopping with other parts of the world. I believe that BC Ferries compares quite favorably.

Van Isle

- How come people "just don't get it"?

I think you have it all there in your post. Our msm is bought and paid for. Canadians are intelligent people - but when intelligent people are lied to they draw the wrong conclusions. Standards in reporting is where the fight needs to begin - and it is a huge one.

By and large

"I believe that BC Ferries compares quite favorably."

By and large I beleive BC Ferries is reasonable. Our American friends say our service beats washington's ferry service hands down, and I beleive them.

I still beleive the BCF should have remained a crown corporation. BC Ferries will never be profitable. Pretending its a business is silly.
Past efforts offering private passenger ferries to the islands have never worked, never will. I remember a small company offering flights on a twin beaver to the island, operated for about a year, great service,good rates, that died.
We live on the island and the trip to the lowermainland just keeps going up. Not just the ferries, but the gas in our own car.
BC ferries most unprofitable season is in the fall and winter.
If they could figure out a way to increase usage during the off seasons..., hey maybe really reduce off season rates!
The other issue is marketing. BC Ferries isnt very creative and could use some business logic. Staple a coupon for a free bowl of whitespot clam chowder, a gas coupon or maybe a lottery ticket to each ferry ticket sold.
Its really not a business but an integral part of the highway system. In hindsight a bridge network to the island would may have saved british columbians a whole whack of money.

freewilly, I agree with you.....

up to the point where you talk about marketing. You said yourself pretending it's a business is silly. If it's not a business, I guess it must be a public service. And public services shouldn't be wasting money on marketing.

As I pointed out earlier, prime time sailings are already packed. You're not going to convince someone to travel in the middle of winter or on a 9:00 sailing by offering them a bowl of clam chowder.

And the bridge? That's a pipe dream.

ReeferMadness, I agree with you ...

up to the point where you talk about marketing. You said 'if it's not a business, I guess it must be a public service.And public services should be wasting money on advertising".

But I ask, is all advertising a waste of money? And can a public service, which natural entails a "scenic byway", not still be operated as a public service yet marketed to the tourist sector of users at the same time, provided the expense in marketing is profitable?

I think some of the ferry routes serve dual purposes, fundamentally as a transportation route but collaterally as a tourist attraction.