$7.50 Fast Ferry Fare Won't Fly
Councillor: Price has to be in $4 to $5 range
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Wednesday Aug 27, 2008
Raising the fares for Bedford’’s fast ferries could sink the service before the vessels hit the waves, says the area’’s councillor.
"It's going to have to be in the $4 to $5 range or it’’s not going to float," Coun. Tim Outhit (Bedford) said Tuesday of the service to downtown Halifax.
The municipality is looking to test the waters on what people are willing to pay when a market study is done early next month.
The fares quoted in the city document are a range between $4 and $7.50, but the higher amount will make it prohibitive, said Mr. Outhit.
"Obviously, this is what we have to determine (through the survey), but I suspect that people are only willing to pay slightly more than a bus or a link service."
Standard adult bus fares are now $2 and MetroLink, a direct bus that links suburban communities to downtown Halifax, is $2.50.
Although tickets for the ferry service ranging from $4 to $7.50 would still be less than the cost of gas, parking and bridge tolls for many vehicles to get downtown, Mr. Outhit said it still needs to be competitive.
Mr. Outhit is also concerned about the accessibility of the Bedford terminal, slated for Mill Cove.
"If someone has to get in their car, drive to the ferry, find a place to park and then get on the ferry, that’’s not going to fly at $2 or $7," he said.
"But if we get people in and out efficiently, if they can walk or shuttle or use a park-and-ride and make the price affordable, then I think it could be interesting."
The market study comes at a critical time, Mr. Outhit said.
"I’’m not ready to sign off on this yet. I want to see the study and I want to see the cost . . . because if it’’s not going to be used, then I’’m not going to buy in."
A councillor who represents a Halifax peninsula district agrees.
"Council has not definitely said, ‘‘Go ahead, we’’re doing this,’’ " said Coun. Sheila Fougere, who is running for mayor.
Council has asked for further investigation "and I think many of us on council will continue to do that," the representative for Connaught-Quinpool said in an interview.
The price hike would be a deterrent, she said.
Ms. Fougere said $7.50 "is certainly more than the last information (we had), which showed us people would be less likely to use it if it were anything over $4."
Mayor Peter Kelly, who supports the fast ferry, was not available for comment Tuesday because of late meetings, an assistant said.
Ms. Fougere said the market study is a useful and critical piece of information in the decision-making process.
"We have to make sure people are going to use it. Otherwise, it would be a huge waste of money."
The city’’s manager of traffic and transportation services said Tuesday that’’s why the city has put out a request for proposals for the survey.
"We would expect that as the fares increase, . . . the number of people who would ride it would drop," Dave McCusker said Tuesday.
"But to understand where the cut-off points are, we need to test a fairly extensive range."
It's hoped that the ferry service will pay for itself, Mr. McCusker said. It will cost about $30 million for the boats, terminals and docking facilities at Mill Cove and Halifax.
"Our expectation from the first study is that the ferry can break even, that it can cover its operating costs by fares," he said. "But we’’ll confirm that with the upcoming review of the business case, based on this new market data."
Rising fuel prices likely won’’t affect the cost of running the ferry service, Mr. McCusker said.
"It costs us more to operate, but it also increases the number of people who want to take the service. So it pretty much evens out in the end."
The survey, which the city hopes to have done by mid-September, will be included in a council presentation at a later date, he said.