The Comox Valley Record will be publishing the following long and short versions of my piece in their online and print versions respectively on how much the failed experiment is costing taxpayers. Both CHEK and Global News covered the May 2 cancellations. The Global News segment “DI steamed over cancellations,” highlights the extreme frustration of ferry users and includes Josie Osborne claiming “We need a long term solution….” in response to the BCF spokesperson claiming that the mechanical problems are being reduced.
A Failed Cable Ferry Experiment Costs Taxpayers Millions
Dear Editor:
For years B.C.Ferries attributed the persistent Baynes Sound cable ferry mechanical breakdowns to teething problems. These teething problems, however, have become so chronic that union members and Denman and Hornby islanders refer to the world’s longest cable ferry as a failed experiment that needs to be decommissioned. Recently released information from FOI requests confirm what islanders have suspected for almost a decade—that the world’s longest cable ferry costs taxpayers plenty to keep in iffy service.
Although BCF’s ousted CEO claimed that the cable ferry would save taxpayer dollars on fuel and staffing and provide service on a par with conventional vessels, BCF accounts confirm that the cable ferry costs the same as conventional vessels for fuel and staffing—$2M annually; and according to one interpretation of BCF’s confusing records that call for an independent audit, the cost for maintenance and repairs run in the hundreds of million dollars annually.
Despite the ferry’s unreliable service and the abyss between anticipated and actual expenses, BCF refuses to cut its losses by replacing it with a conventional vessel. The corporation’s stock excuse is that the current budget cycle doesn’t provide funds for replacement. Those who are mandated with providing corporate governance, the BCF Commissioner and the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, echo this sorry excuse for keeping a failed experiment in service.
Since the budget provides funds for increasing deck space, however, BCF is considering spending $41M on stretching it. Stretching a mechanically challenged, potentially unsafe, and slow vessel by installing heavier cables and a heavier engine is neither rational nor fiscally responsible. Islanders do not share BCF’s faith that should a cable fall off in winds higher than 39 knots, that it is safe to dock. Since the cable ferry currently runs at kayaking speed, due to dragging the weight of three mile-long cables and seaweed fouling the hull, adding extra weight should reduce speed even more.
By placing budget considerations over reliability and cost-effectiveness, BCF continues to be in violation of the Coastal Ferry Act, BCF’s operational bible. The Coastal Ferry Act is unambiguous in mandating that the corporation provide assured service to ferry-dependent communities; and that government overseers steer the corporation towards improving service in a fiscally responsible and transparent manner.
The task of a CEO who is hired to turn around a dysfunctional corporation is to correct the failures of former CEOs, not to perpetuate them. Thus, islanders will continue to appeal to CEO Jimenez to reconsider keeping a failed experiment in costly service indefinitely. As Albert Einstein warns, to repeatedly do something in the same way but expect a different outcome is madness.
Respectfully,
Sharon Small,
Denman Island Resident
