Ferry price hikes could be even more than anticipated after the next review of BC Ferries’ contract with the government in 2012, according to CEO David Hahn.
In an interview on February 3 on Shaw TV Hahn said price hikes between 12 and 14 per cent per year can be expected for minor routes if the provincial government does not increase its subsidies to the corporation. Hahn estimated that it would take an additional $25 million on top of the roughly $150 million that BC Ferries receives annually from the government to prevent the price hikes.
Hahn’s estimated 12- to 14-per-cent annual increases would mean an increase of about 50 per cent over the next four-year service contract for all routes serving Powell River. Hahn predicts major routes, those connecting Vancouver and Vancouver Island, will go up between four to five per cent per year, while northern routes will go up 26 per cent per year.
Ferry fares have gone up 64 to 87 per cent over the past seven years for the three routes serving Powell River.
None of this is news for Bill Cripps, chair of the Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee. In an interview with the Peak last December Cripps predicted that if the service level from the government does not increase with the next contract renewal, prices will go up about 10 per cent per year.
“I don’t know on what basis [Hahn] would say 12 to 14 per cent,” said Cripps, “but that’s good, that puts more pressure on the government.”
The BC Ferries commissioner will submit recommendations for the next service contract on March 31, with a reply from government due at the end of June. Hahn outlined three possible outcomes: reduced services, higher fees or an increased subsidy from the government.
Low ridership and cost increases are the primary reason for needing fare hikes. The Ferry Advisory Committee chairs released a report in November 2010 entitled Ominous Clouds in which they argued that ridership decreases are directly related to fare increases, a correlation which BC Ferries says is statistically insignificant. They attribute low ridership more to economic concerns than ferry prices.
The ministry of transportation and infrastructure, in a press release from February 5, stated the amount of taxpayer funding that goes to BC Ferries has more than doubled since 2001. The press release also stated that until the commissioner’s report is released “it is premature to speculate on any service change or fare increase.”
