Public transit/TransLink thread

[Rip The Mesh]

Good Night Irene, Good - - - - - - - -  Could be one hell of a party in one of them things.

 

[Gurn]

12 minutes ago, Rip The Mesh said:

Could be one hell of a party in one of them things.

For quite a few years, The Queen Of Burnaby would actually do a 'party' trip.

High School grad celebrations/parties would happen on board, after the normal business day was complete.

Crew would take the 'kids' out for a few hours tour.

 

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

14 minutes ago, Gurn said:

For quite a few years, The Queen Of Burnaby would actually do a 'party' trip.

High School grad celebrations/parties would happen on board, after the normal business day was complete.

Crew would take the 'kids' out for a few hours tour.

 

 

 

Maybe that's one way BC Ferries could earn new revenue - create a division that would take their older stock (ie. are still seaworthy, but no longer scheduled for runs) and convert them into mobile event venues for charter/rental.  Of course, they'd have to clean up those ships and make them presentable (including convertnig a lot of the seating areas), and they'd have to staff them with a skeleton crew of sailors and a larger contingent of event staff, but it would probably bring in enough to offset those costs and maybe even bring in a tidy profit.  Conference sessions on a retired ferry?  Why not!  

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:31 AM, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

 

 

Maybe that's one way BC Ferries could earn new revenue - create a division that would take their older stock (ie. are still seaworthy, but no longer scheduled for runs) and convert them into mobile event venues for charter/rental.  Of course, they'd have to clean up those ships and make them presentable (including convertnig a lot of the seating areas), and they'd have to staff them with a skeleton crew of sailors and a larger contingent of event staff, but it would probably bring in enough to offset those costs and maybe even bring in a tidy profit.  Conference sessions on a retired ferry?  Why not!  

 

Well well well, news1130 must be reading our posts here.  Apparently the service to charter a ferry already exists:

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/06/12/bc-ferries-vessel-charter-sailing/

 

Quote

Skip the lineups, charter your own BC Ferries vessel

 

FILE: Queen of Cowichan (Credit: BC Ferries) Scott Arkell

   

By Mike Lloyd

Posted June 12, 2024 7:25 am.

Last Updated June 12, 2024 9:38 am.

 

If you’ve ever been caught in lineups and delays at a BC Ferries terminal, you know how frustrating the waits can be.

 

However, there is an option you’ve probably never considered — chartering your very own sailing.

 

If you want an extra run outside of the regular schedule, need a floating film set, or simply want to invite all your friends and play Love Boat, it’s totally possible.

 

“It’s a unique service we offer, subject to crew and vessel availability, where you can charter a BC Ferries vessel outside of our regularly scheduled sailings to get your guests to and from a location throughout coastal BC,” said BC Ferries’ senior communication advisor Reet Sidhu, who added the most common request is for an extra sailing before or after regular sailings.

 

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If you’ve ever been caught in lineups and delays at a BC ferry terminal, you know how frustrating the waits can be. Have you considered chartering your own sailing? (Courtesy BC Ferries)

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“It’s really just a scenic opportunity to get your crew or employees to or from a large function or event.”

 

While that is typically done on the smaller routes, she says it is possible to charter larger vessels, too.

 

“I’m not aware of any route restrictions. I think it depends a lot more on the availability of our crew and vessels outside of our regular sailings. Our number one priority is ensuring the public gets access during the regular schedule, but we can pretty much get you any island if it’s available.”

 

So, technically, it is possible to charter the Queen of Coquitlam for your kids’ birthday party or staff Christmas cruise.

 

“You could. Absolutely,” Sidhu told CityNews. “You can go on our website under ‘Contact Us’ and there is a charter form you can fill out and submit. Our customer support department would look at that and then respond to you in a timely manner, but this is something that is usually planned out weeks or months in advance, for the most part. That’s what we would recommend.”

 

Sidhu says the film and TV industry is also a repeat charter customer, with a number of productions renting both terminal and ferry space.

“We had a Disney Channel movie (Descendants) shot on board and we’ve also had a Netflix production called Maid and another film called Murder in a Small Town just this past February. We also recently did a charter for Transport Canada, as well.”

But before you start planning, you might want to consider the cost.

 

“It can vary, depending on the capacity of the vessel and what you are booking for. It can start around $1,700 per hour for a vessel that has a capacity of about 260 passengers,” she explained.

 

“A larger Coastal Class vessel could be upwards of $12,000 per hour because it has a capacity of about 1,500 passengers. And there is a four-hour minimum.”

 

If you’d like ferry food to feed your event, catering is also available for an extra cost. BC Ferries also adds there is little wiggle room when it comes to scheduling extra sailings during the peak travel season, making charters outside the summer months an easier proposition.

 

[Rip The Mesh]

Never thought I'd see this New York city style tower stuff here. Nice view of the f...ing mountains though, mm?

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Rip The Mesh said:

Never thought I'd see this New York city style tower stuff here. Nice view of the f...ing mountains though, mm?

 

I think the 500+ people having a place to live is worth having part of a view blocked. 

[Rip The Mesh]

4 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

I think the 500+ people having a place to live is worth having part of a view blocked. 

That's why there are Burnabys and New Westminsters and other areas; Do you really think the proposed towers are really for cheap living space?

Look more like office towers regardless of what it says now, and even if not, they aint going to be affordable to regular Joes.( My take)

[Bob Long]

21 minutes ago, Rip The Mesh said:

That's why there are Burnabys and New Westminsters and other areas; Do you really think the proposed towers are really for cheap living space?

Look more like office towers regardless of what it says now, and even if not, they aint going to be affordable to regular Joes.( My take)

 

densification around skytrain stations is an excellent idea, imo. So a bit of a view gets blocked for the catholic school and a few apartments across the street, you'd actually stop this development over that? 

 

there's also a big development plan for the False Creek Flats area that this would be beside - starting with the new hospital, the whole area thats between GNW and Clark thats just mostly old trash buildings is going to be redeveloped for light industrial and new apartments. 

 

 

Edited June 20 by Bob Long

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

Densification needs to happen if we're to try to minimize the impact of commuting, and urban sprawl (even if there is densification in the suburbs) works against that when most people still need to commute to the main city for school, work, or other professional services.

 

Sadly, I think a lot of Vancouverites (especially the NIMBYs) feed into the "pretends they belong to a big world-class city but carries the mentality of a small town" (paraphrased) criticism.  All the world-class cities have some degree of efficient mass transport and densification around those transport hubs, while Vancouver struggles to even build a half-complete subway while maintaining an incoherent bus system.

[Bob Long]

8 minutes ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

Densification needs to happen if we're to try to minimize the impact of commuting, and urban sprawl (even if there is densification in the suburbs) works against that when most people still need to commute to the main city for school, work, or other professional services.

 

Sadly, I think a lot of Vancouverites (especially the NIMBYs) feed into the "pretends they belong to a big world-class city but carries the mentality of a small town" (paraphrased) criticism.  All the world-class cities have some degree of efficient mass transport and densification around those transport hubs, while Vancouver struggles to even build a half-complete subway while maintaining an incoherent bus system.

 

wait for the light rail addition in the Arbutus corridor to downtown, you'll see people chaining themselves to their pop up gardens along the train tracks. But its an excellent idea to bring that in.

 

I think the city now has the ownership or rights to the entire rail path now, and the plan I saw recently was from arbutus to beside the stadium area, as part of the whole viaduct dismantling/redevelopment. 

 

I think that would be awesome having light rail from kits to downtown, with a dedicated safe bike path with it. 

 

But, someone will lose their free garden plot, so f*** it. 

 

 

Edited June 20 by Bob Long

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

2 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

wait for the light rail addition in the Arbutus corridor to downtown, you'll see people chaining themselves to their pop up gardens along the train tracks. But its an excellent idea to bring that in.

 

I think the city now has the ownership or rights to the entire rail path now, and the plan I saw recently was from arbutus to beside the stadium area, as part of the whole viaduct dismantling/redevelopment. 

 

I think that would be awesome having light rail from kits to downtown, with a dedicated safe bike path with it. 

 

But, someone will lose their free garden plot, so f*** it. 

 

 

 

I know people have their reasons for not liking Stewy as mayor, but the idea to run a line up 41st / 49th (the "Loop") to UBC is actually a good one, and a much needed one.  Traffic in Kerrisdale is absolutely horrid on the best of days, and then you add in UBC traffic coming from south of the Fraser (whether from Hwy 99 or through Marine Drive from traffic cutting through New West), and it becomes gridlock central.  A Skytrain line that takes the 41st / 49th Ave corridor would greatly alleviate that congestion, and with densification, would open up a lot more potential housing within Vancouver.

[Bob Long]

37 minutes ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

 

I know people have their reasons for not liking Stewy as mayor, but the idea to run a line up 41st / 49th (the "Loop") to UBC is actually a good one, and a much needed one.  Traffic in Kerrisdale is absolutely horrid on the best of days, and then you add in UBC traffic coming from south of the Fraser (whether from Hwy 99 or through Marine Drive from traffic cutting through New West), and it becomes gridlock central.  A Skytrain line that takes the 41st / 49th Ave corridor would greatly alleviate that congestion, and with densification, would open up a lot more potential housing within Vancouver.

 

It's ok Sim will get it done.