Numerous struggles for B.C. Ferries

CARLA WILSON

Times Colonist

B C Ferries has revised its four-year plan to take into account a predicted mild recession, inflation, “significantly” rising costs across the system and ongoing employee staffing and retention challenges

A 41-page supplemental report to the Office of the B C Ferries Commissioner updates the corporation’s outlook submitted six months ago

Employee turnover is high, mid-life upgrades for ships are being deferred, and maintenance costs for its aging fleet and infrastructure have jumped

B C Ferries’ updated forecast, based on the expectation of a mild recession early in its 2024 fiscal year, predicts traffic will be down one to three per cent overall, resulting in a $14-million drop in fare revenue

With high inflation that could cut into consumer spending in the next two years, there is a “real risk there will be a reduction in discretionary travel, which could further impact travel,” the update says. Even so, the company is assuming favourable economic conditions will return in the 2025 fiscal year, bringing traffic back up to earlier forecasted levels

Itcautionsthatvehicletrafficcoulddecline with future fare-rate increases However, the province announced last month it was providing $500 million to B.C Ferries to keep fare increases below three per cent per year

Capital spending is typically planned over 12 years Numbers provided in September have been revised because of “extraordinary” inflation, the update said

About $229 million has been added to the capital budget of $5-billion-plus even as some projects have been cancelled or deferred

New vessels account for about $2 2 billion of the capital budget The cost of several more new Island-class vessels has increased, although the report did not say by how much

Expected costs of $3.1 billion to upgrade existing vessels, terminals and information technology are expected to rise by about $187 million from previous estimates, mainly because of inflation, the update said.

As some projects have been advanced and others confirmed, more than 50 new initiatives remain, including a potential new tug and barge. About 15 projects have been can- celled, valued at about $24 million Mid-life upgrades for the Coastal-class ferries have been pushed back to 2034 Terminal and vessel maintenance costs have climbed because of supply-chain pressures, inflation, unplanned work due to deferred capital programs, and required repairs at terminals, the outlook says

The cost to maintain the terminals has been higher than expected expenses rose by $6 9 million for the 2023 fiscal year and by $7 9 million for the 2024 fiscal year

More than half of the report addresses long-standing human resources issues, including lack of trained staff, high turnover, lack of leadership training and pay rates that are not competitive At the urging of the union representing B C Ferries workers, wages talks are set to reopen in November, five month ahead of schedule

The report compared hourly rates for eight positions and found B.C. Ferries was behind Seaspan, a North Vancouver-based marine company, in seven work categories.

Deckhand and bridgewatch workers at B.C. Ferries earned 24.9 per cent less than at Seaspan and third engineers on a large vessel earned 18 6 per cent less The outlook contained a section that looked at how to attract and retain workers, including information obtained through exit interviews Consistent themes emerged when employees were asked why they were leaving B C Ferries

An unnecessary amount of paperwork is required when technology could be used, they said, and operations management was not sufficiently trained to manage staff Workers pointed to an unsustainable workload, such as years of working 12-to-15-hour days and most weekends and the belief that a work-life balance was not possible

Other issues included a feeling that the workload was unmanageable and the situation would not improve in the long term A lack of progress in human resources was also listed

B.C Ferries made hiring accredited officers a priority, but the report said there has been a growing number of declined employment offers Would-be employees noted the difficulty in finding housing and the cost of living in some communities, the report said.

“B.C. Ferries is experiencing a gap in overall leadership capabilities, with front line leaders needing higher levels of support to manage both operations and their team members.” and cost BWP residents about $1,323 a year over 30 years

Director of engineering Patrick Graham told council last week he expects the province to have the funds ready by May, allowing for design work and contract tendering to be complete by the fall Well upgrades and most of the water main upgrades could then start late this year and finish by Spring 2024

The remaining water main work along Spyglass Road will take place in Summer 2024 for environmental reasons Eight culverts will also be replaced during this later round of work, which the municipality will cover costs for

Phase 2 work, replacing water mains which are less damaged or near end of life, is estimated to take place in 2025 Exploration of potential new wells will also take place at this time