My entire Island life, I’ve looked forward to the day I would go up to the ferry terminal, nod my distinguished grey head and ride the boat for free.
All those years huddled on the car deck to avoid the temptation to spend money on the Pacific Buffet, I held that thought dear.
Sitting miserably in the below-decks dog prison, forsaking all the expensive fleece vests in the gift shop far above, I thought: “Someday, I will lounge on the sundeck, brandish my cane at loud teenagers and it will all be free.”
Until Monday, when they took my dream and smashed it. The Monday-Thursday free ride for seniors will come to an end next April, when the over-65 set will start paying half-price on the passenger fare that’s been waived for years.
It’s hard to know who to resent more — the baby-faced cabinet minister Todd Stone who made this move or all the seniors who enjoyed for years what most of us boomers will now never get — the free ride.
Stone, a 40-something who looks 10 years younger, promised to “look people in the eye” while he’s explaining this decision. There are going to be a lot of stare-downs between now and April, because “no more free rides” goes well beyond what was contemplated when the government started gearing up for the big curtailments announced Monday.
All the budgeting and fiscal projections produced a target of $19 million that had to be carved out of B.C. Ferries’ costs when the government started the coast-wide series of consultations. And $19 million in savings is what they produced. There are $14 million worth of cuts to the minor and northern routes up and down the coast, and $5 million more from the major routes over time.
But Stone went well past the established target when he announced no more free rides for seniors, as well. It’s expected to produce $6 million more in revenue a year, which is about a third more than the original target. He explained it as a pre-emptive move against the cost crisis that is shaping up in future years, beyond the time frame the other curtailments are designed to fix.
The message is: If you think B.C. Ferries is in financial trouble now, you should see what the books will look like in five years, under current trends.
About a million passengers a year get the seniors’ break. But the fare isn’t waived. It’s picked up by the government, to the tune of $15 million last year to cover all those rides. The projection is that seniors will pay $6 million at half-fare next year. The working understanding is that the government fare subsidy will continue, and B.C. Ferries will get to retain the expected $6 million in half-fares, as well.
Left out of those projections is the baby boom. The first baby boomers started getting their free rides in 2011. The obvious demographic bulge would have seen huge take-up on that mid-week break in coming years, something that likely factored in their thinking.
It was first bestowed in 1976. It had a 37-year run, and soon it will be gone. In the spirit of generosity, I will suppress my jealous feelings about all those affluent, Lexus-driving golden-agers who caught the break that will come to an end before my chance comes. Luck of the draw.
Not that objecting would have accomplished anything, anyway.
There was a lengthy round of consultation before this plan was unveiled and another round of listening is scheduled now that it’s out.
But the next round is only about “tweaking” the schedule changes on all the routes that were affected. The seniors’ fare is a done deal, as far as the government is concerned.
As for the slot machines, they’re just a bit of flash thrown in to distract people from the grim news. An overall eight per cent reduction in service brings home the new normal for the service.
And the previously unthinkable end to the seniors-ride-free policy shows how desperate the struggle has become to keep fare hikes from slipping out of control.
