70 replies to this topic

[amor de cosmos]

tc
http://www.timescolo...ummer-1.2144310

[jonny]

Kudos to Riverside Marine for locating their corporate office in Victoria. They could have easily set-up shop in Vancouver.

[VicHockeyFan]

Kudos to Riverside Marine for locating their corporate office in Victoria. They could have easily set-up shop in Vancouver.

 

For sure.  I imagine they will have most of their sales team in Vancouver.

 

I sure hope the business community here gets behind this thing.  If they can package this right, I think it can be a real winner.

[jonny]

For sure.  I imagine they will have most of their sales team in Vancouver.

 

I sure hope the business community here gets behind this thing.  If they can package this right, I think it can be a real winner.

 

I imagine they will work lots with Tourism Victoria and the local hotels here, so Victoria does make sense from that perspective.

[VicHockeyFan]

I imagine they will work lots with Tourism Victoria and the local hotels here, so Victoria does make sense from that perspective.

 

That's very true jonny, lots of hard work will be required on this end.  What they are trying to do here is recreate the Clipper experience (but of course we have better scenery on this run), but selling it to Vancouverites and tourists that will know there is another, less expensive way.  I don't expect the average Seattleite knows all the ways to get here, but Vancouverites do, BC Ferries is always in the news.

 

I always ask my friends when we are on BC if they know what islands we are between in Active Pass.  95% of the time, they get it wrong or have no idea.  It'd be nice if this run informs people.

[amor de cosmos]

In a Jan. 6 letter, Price tells Nick Cheong, Riverside’s vice-president of operations, that such a stop is an “untapped opportunity” to use Sidney’s enormous water lot — 4.49 acres or 195,500 square feet — as a foot-passenger facility.

*snip*

“Early days, but all you have to do is look at a map and see that Sidney truly is the gateway to Vancouver, the mainland and the Gulf Islands,” he said, noting that the town has both the Anacortes ferry terminal and part of the Victoria International Airport within its boundaries.

“We are only getting started on being the transportation hub of the future for Vancouver Island.”

Beacon Wharf is located at the foot of Beacon Avenue. The Pier Bistro is perched at the end, along with a fresh fish store and summer ferry trips to nearby Sidney Spit operated by Alpine Marine.

http://www.timescolo...ferry-1.2147718

A Sidney stop for Riverside Marine’s passenger ferry this summer between Victoria and Vancouver is just one of many uses that a renovated harbour could accommodate.

Sidney officials continue their discussions with privately run Island Ferry Services “for a fast cat from Sidney to downtown Vancouver as a commuter service,” Price said.

At a recent Island Ferry presentation, Sidney officials were told the commuter run could get people to downtown Vancouver in 90 minutes, compared to the 3 1/2-hour Riverside trip expected to cost about $80.

Island Ferry’s charge would be closer to $40 one way, Price said.

http://www.timescolo...mayor-1.2147722

Edited by amor de cosmos, 10 January 2016 - 09:57 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

4 days in and Sidney is already trying to steal Victoria's ferry!

[lanforod]

4 days in and Sidney is already trying to steal Victoria's ferry!

 

No, they're advocating a commuter version, not a luxury tourist catamaran. I agree, though I think buses need a faster route out of Sidney if you've gotta run 4 busses through every 2 hours.

[amor de cosmos]

i wonder if they could fit a bus station right nearby, say on 1st or 2nd. & what do you know, that would be just about the same place as the old v&s terminus.

[Bingo]

4 days in and Sidney is already trying to steal Victoria's ferry!

 

Yup, I don't think it will work if the ferry stops at Sidney on it's way to Victoria.

Tourists don't need a bus ride in from the Sidney dock.

The idea of the run is to get from A to B as soon as possible.

[VicHockeyFan]

“It makes more sense, actually, to operate out of Sidney than it does out of downtown Victoria, not only because of the weather and trying to get around in the wintertime, but also just the distance,” Price said.

 

“It cuts a good hour off the trip by running out of here.”

 

Some tourists might prefer a short boat trip and jaunt around Sidney, rather than travelling all the way to Vancouver, he said.

 

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.EgFAyWmY.dpuf

 

I don't really know what that last bit means.   I don't think a 300-passenger craft is going to be all that busy for a Sidney-Victoria run.