Sea trials starting for V2V Victoria-Vancouver ferry - Page 3

Kwik-E-Mart · #41 Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 9:10 PM**

Looks like they are trying to relaunch the service with a sponsored article in the Daily Hive.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/v2v-...xury-catamaran

Not sure if the second time around will be any better though...

aberdeen5698 · #42 Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 11:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwik-E-Mart

Looks like they are trying to relaunch the service with a sponsored article in the Daily Hive.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/v2v-...xury-catamaran

Not sure if the second time around will be any better though...

It's more like the fourth or fifth time if you include the attempts by all of other companies to make a go of this...

connect2source · #43 Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:23 AM**

This article is an advertorial, or branded content and is an ad for the V2V service. There's nothing in here about it being suspended or re-started, perhaps read it.

The service hasn't stopped, it's been running continuously all year. I live very near the Convention Centre and walk past the ticket office on my way to the gym. Seems to be doing fine

svlt · #44 Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 8:59 PM**

Yeah, it definitely has been continuously operating. I work right by the Convention Center as well and see the branded ship all the time this summer.

ilikeredheads · #45 Posted **Sep 5, 2019, 2:50 AM**

but how is their ridership though?

I'm guessing they are struggling if they have to rely on sponsored content like this.

CanSpice · #46 Posted **Sep 5, 2019, 3:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikeredheads

but how is their ridership though?

I'm guessing they are struggling if they have to rely on sponsored content like this.

How so? It's just an ad, nearly every company advertises whether or not they're struggling.

lrt's friend · #47 Posted **Sep 6, 2019, 12:28 AM**

I rode this boat in late April from Victoria to Vancouver. It was a great trip and a really good price because it was the start of the season. There were a lot of people on board. I thought it was well used considering it was far from peak tourist season.

Conrad Yablonski · #48 Posted **Sep 6, 2019, 3:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I rode this boat in late April from Victoria to Vancouver. It was a great trip and a really good price because it was the start of the season. There were a lot of people on board. I thought it was well used considering it was far from peak tourist season.

And I used for a round trip in late March-a glorious day a great ride to Victoria & back for lunch couldn't have asked for more.

jlousa · #49 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 2:42 AM**

And operations are ceased effective immediately. Who could've predicted that this wasn't going to be economically viable.

Migrant_Coconut · #50 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 2:56 AM**

Hope they're not going to just scrap perfectly good ferries.

ilikeredheads · #51 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 3:28 AM**

of course it was gonna fail. Prices start at $220 per person for a round trip. It is a mistake to only focus on the tourists. At those prices you might as go Harbour Air.

GeeCee · #52 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 9:20 AM**

I don't know why private companies keep trying to do passenger service between Vancouver and the island. It's easy enough to see that everyone who's tried it in the last few decades has gone out of business quite quickly.

Klazu · #53 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 12:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlousa

And operations are ceased effective immediately. Who could've predicted that this wasn't going to be economically viable.

What does that mean exactly? They don't operate in the winter months anyways.

I took the ferry back in October and found it convenient. It's not fast per se, as the trip is three hours one way, so basically the same time as driving to the ferry terminal. I also agree that prices for the lower class could have been a lot lower to fill the ferry which had maybe 30-40 passangers on Thanksgiving weekend.

This service has very good reviews on TripAdvisor and such so I am slightly surprised if it hasn't been successful.

GeeCee · #54 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 12:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

What does that mean exactly? They don't operate in the winter months anyways.

The service won't be back in 2020: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/l...ice-1.24047231

connect2source · #55 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 2:12 PM**

I walk passed the ticket office every day on my way to the gym, never much action even in the summer. I always had a problem with their marketing, the word 'luxury' was everywhere which translated to 'expensive' and 'exclusive' for me.

What we needed was an affordable passenger-only solution, not some luxury product aimed only at affluent tourists. For the average passenger travelling with no car, the skytrain and bus connections to Tsawwassen are getting better and better over the years and it's no big deal to bus-it and pay $17 to cross vs over $100 one way.

Klazu · #56 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 2:28 PM**

"A statement says the company made the “difficult decision” because the business is no longer financially sustainable.

“As a management team, our commitment and focus has been on improving the overall health of our operations, with considerable efforts made over the past number of years to develop the service successfully. Our improved product and enhanced marketing efforts resulted in phenomenal double-digit growth in passenger numbers in 2019 and outstanding guest feedback,” says General Manager Julian Wright in a statement."

aberdeen5698 · #57 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 3:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klazu

...I also agree that prices for the lower class could have been a lot lower to fill the ferry which had maybe 30-40 passangers on Thanksgiving weekend.

This service has very good reviews on TripAdvisor and such so I am slightly surprised if it hasn't been successful.

You answered your question before you asked it. Most of our fellow citizens value cost over convenience, as witnessed by the the way people avoided the tolled Port Mann bridge in favour of the very congested alternatives.

Migrant_Coconut · #58 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 8:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by connect2source

What we needed was an affordable passenger-only solution, not some luxury product aimed only at affluent tourists. For the average passenger travelling with no car, the skytrain and bus connections to Tsawwassen are getting better and better over the years and it's no big deal to bus-it and pay $17 to cross vs over $100 one way.

And there's the problem: $100 one-way is likely what you need in order to turn a profit with a fast ferry.

jollyburger · #59 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 8:50 PM**

It's doubtful they could even make money on the Victoria-Vancouver as a cheapo commuter service.

svlt · #60 Posted **Jan 7, 2020, 10:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

And there's the problem: $100 one-way is likely what you need in order to turn a profit with a fast ferry.

From what it looked like it did seem like they had a few more bells and whistles for the ridership than a basic commuter service, but it probably contributed very little to the total cost of operation. Not sure if pricing only a little lower and consequently running a very budget interior would have fared any better though.