6319 replies to this topic

[HB]

I get it I think they do have a point though, the lower deck is enclosed and if there are any fumes etc its hard to vent. The upper decks will still allow folks to stay in their car as its open and vented. 

What is their point?

 

Is it,  that since the beginning of time for BC ferries it was OK and not a problem? No one was injured in all these year by being in their car on the lower deck? Now all of a sudden its very unsafe and bad to be down there? Right I get it.

 

Give me a break...this is nothing more than having full and complete control over the flock.

 

Makes me think that since cell phones were put in use they were safe to use when driving then on a certain and specific date they became unsafe ....oh except for those who have some sort of uniform on....but obviously that's not true especially for the ambulance driver who was busy on their phone when they got hit by a train and caused teh murder of their passenger in the back

[shoeflack]

^^ that would be manslaughter, not murder. And the driver was not changed, so it wasn't even manslaughter.

[rjag]

who knows why all of a sudden this came into effect. My guess is a change in management on the Fed or Ferry end with a different perspective. Visions of a small man with a clipboard come to mind.

 

Pretty funny considering its been this way for decades with not 1 single incident on record. The car trains that take you from UK to France, you drive your car onto the train and sit in your car for the 40 minutes several km under the surface....

[HB]

it was a homicide then and not all people are charged in regard to homicide

[Mike K.]

BC Ferries' lower car deck changes are complying with a federal regulation.

The smoking area bans are a corporate move, however, decided on due to provincial regulations that ban smoking within six metres of doorways, intakes and and open windows.

[57WestHills]

The final push for BC Ferries from Transport Canada was the garage decks on the Salish class. Those three ships are sailing with regulatory exemptions temporarily to allow people on the car deck, particularly important since two of the three boats are having serious elevator issues - actually getting off the car deck right now isn't possible for anyone with mobility challenges. 

Edited by 57WestHills, 23 August 2017 - 11:24 AM.

[Nparker]

...on the Salish class...ships...getting off the car deck right now isn't possible for anyone with mobility challenges. 

I haven't travelled on one yet. What is the specific issue? How was this not foreseen before the designs were approved?

[Bingo]

The final push for BC Ferries from Transport Canada was the garage decks on the Salish class. Those three ships are sailing with regulatory exemptions temporarily to allow people on the car deck, particularly important since two of the three boats are having serious elevator issues - actually getting off the car deck right now isn't possible for anyone with mobility challenges. 

What, no elevator?

[HB]

This is just the beginning. Now people will be requesting the upper car decks, only a matter of time before BC Ferries  add a premium to that deck and start charging extra fees and reservations for those who want to stay in their cars...just wait its only a matter of time.

[Bingo]

This is just the beginning. Now people will be requesting the upper car decks, only a matter of time before BC Ferries  add a premium to that deck and start charging extra fees and reservations for those who want to stay in their cars...just wait its only a matter of time.

 

You can get into the back seat then crawl into the trunk until everyone else moves to the upper decks.

Actually you could bring a few extra family members aboard if they start the trip in the trunk.

[57WestHills]

I haven't travelled on one yet. What is the specific issue? How was this not foreseen before the designs were approved?

BC Ferries was running on exemptions. The end was coming eventually anyways; the design of the Salish class ships is - notwithstanding the two Northern boats - the most conventional ferry design when looking at Global standards. It's not an issue of "being foreseen" because it was foreseen - it's an issue of implementation timing and even then I'd argue it isn't an issue and just a first world problem British Columbians are jumping into a decade late.

For the Salish class though the haste was based on the sealed lower car deck. The three Salish boats, along with the two Northern boats which have prohibited passengers from the car decks for about thirty years, are the only ones in the fleets with literally sealed car decks. The Queen of Chilliwack also had a sealed car deck and Transport Canada and BC Ferries figuratively went at it a lot over passengers accessing their vehicles when she was deployed to Southern routes for years and years. The Queen of Chilliwack has been retired for several years now, though.

[Nparker]

What does this have to do with passengers with mobility issues?

[lanforod]

What does this have to do with passengers with mobility issues?

 

If elevators are not working, how do passengers get off the decks they are not supposed to be on?

[Nparker]

If elevators are not working, how do passengers get off the decks they are not supposed to be on?

That was what I was asking. What is the situation with elevators on the "sealed" decks?

[spanky123]

who knows why all of a sudden this came into effect. My guess is a change in management on the Fed or Ferry end with a different perspective. Visions of a small man with a clipboard come to mind.

 

Pretty funny considering its been this way for decades with not 1 single incident on record. The car trains that take you from UK to France, you drive your car onto the train and sit in your car for the 40 minutes several km under the surface....

 

The spokesperson for BC Ferries was on CFAX a couple of days ago and asked why BC ferries was only now starting to enforce a 2007 Transport Canada regulation. The spokesperson responded (words to the effect of), that BC Ferries had mitigation strategies in place such as deck patrols that enabled them to meet the regulations. A recent review was undertaken by the risk team and a different interpretation has been made.

 

I wonder if the real issue is the cost of the deck patrols and whether this is simply BC Ferries trying to manage expenses now that they are being told that they have to allow seniors to travel for free again and reduce fares on some routes. 

[jonny]

I wonder if the real issue is the cost of the deck patrols and whether this is simply BC Ferries trying to manage expenses now that they are being told that they have to allow seniors to travel for free again and reduce fares on some routes. 

 

No. 

 

The real issue is the issue that has been stated over and over again (the risk profile has been revisited with Transport Canada and BC Ferries can no longer meet the regulation with deck patrols). The number of crew on board has nothing to do with this particular regulation. 

 

I'll tell you one thing, if something were to happen on one of our ferries, the last place you want to be as a passenger is the lower vehicle deck. For those stating that nothing has ever happened - the three passengers who died on the MV Queen of Victoria when it collided with the Sergey Yesenin in 1970 in Active Pass were all traveling on the vehicle deck. 

[57WestHills]

That was what I was asking. What is the situation with elevators on the "sealed" decks?

Broken on two of the ships. They're getting pulled after peak travel season for that to be addressed.

[Nparker]

Broken on two of the ships...

On the new Salish ships?

[Redd42]

This is just the beginning. Now people will be requesting the upper car decks, only a matter of time before BC Ferries  add a premium to that deck and start charging extra fees and reservations for those who want to stay in their cars...just wait its only a matter of time.

 

I would gladly pay a premium to be on the car decks where I could stay in my car. I really hope they do make that an option.

 

I LOATHE going upstairs and only do so for a minimum of time to use the washroom and a take a walk of a few laps around the upper decks. 

 

I find it very stressful to have to spend that much time in a public yet confined space.

 

Luckily for me, I take the ferry only a few times a year.

[lanforod]

Going upstairs while taking BC ferries is stressful? Wow...