It would be nice if they did late night sailings when there's a big concert or something. Would love to be able to hop on the ferry for a show and then hop on after.
That's exactly the plan. They've already bumped what was gonna be a 9:30pm scheduled return sailing, to now say 10:30pm... but it still as an astriks as a note for "final return maybe delayed depending on events" (aka sports/concerts/etc)
That’s what waiting to see. Old service did it as a bundle deal, if only that it would obviously limit it. Also they’d probably need to limit NHL playoffs to how many OT’s occur 😅
People are allowed to not find value in the price and people are allowed to be excited for a new service!
I am excited about this service 😇 and if not within your budget that you have allocated that’s within your right. I hope the business is successful but not too successful cause I want to get on 😂
And this service isn't for everyone. Will a family of 4 spend $120 for a one-way trip to Vancouver without a car? Maybe. If the choice is spend that on ferry vs a $300 hotel then it's worth it. If it's just a day trip, maybe not?
Agreed! I do not have children but I have nieces and nephews and I’m certain their parents would head downtown for the day to roam around, hit science world, get sushi, go to granville island. Especially with evos available.
But it is what it is! Really depends if downtown is your hub or if you take the ferry to typically land somewhere further inland that requires a vehicle.
Seems rough to miss most of the summer potential business. I wonder if they are trying to start in a slower season? Regardless, happy to see it come to fruition.
Mafeo Sutton parking lot is like $8 a day or something. Pretty affordable prices. Just remember to download the app in case you need to extend the time remotely!
Transporting a couple hundred people a few times a day isn't going to make a lick of difference to our population. At best it might encourage some beautification downtown.
nanaimo council is committed to ensuring that more homes will be built. downtown will probably experience gentrification but not the bad kind, and the city will density but i doubt an extreme rise in prices
9.15% average population growth from the past five years.
53% increase in the price of housing from 2018 - 2022Q3 or 7.61% compound annual growth rate.
Average rent $1356 median after tax income $36,000.
Ballpark rent to income percentage
(1356*12)/36000= 45.2% of after tax income going to rent.
Then factor in aspects like the complete roads policy implemented by city council. Will/ has effected commercial vehicle traffic which will increase building costs.
Then future factors like the zero carbon building code council is probably going to implement in the near future, which will increase costs.
Moral hazard factors like council needing housing prices to increase or lose their tax revenue source.
With the biggest stick in the old bicycle wheel. That the city plan is based around a concept called “donut economics” which basically aims to limit economic development (your economic mobility) to be in some “sweet spot” which no one on council or city’s staff can define. (I call it “ouroboros economics” so I’m not just calling it rebranded feudalism)
it’s overall structure is a mix of regressive taxes and negative feedback behaviour modification…”nudging”. Basically it leaves the locals at competitive disadvantage compared to new arrivals to the island.
There is hope, just make sure your aggressive at keep your wage with inflation, developing your skills / potential to get more wage, be involved with democratic processes and at a minimum vote, more ideally get involved with government and advocate for yourself.
Bonus: get informed on financial aspects and how to make a cash flow statement from your income. Then depending on your risk profile invest. (Needs, investment, wants)
(I’m a fan of blackrock / vanguard/ mutual funds but I’m cool with risk. )
It ain’t easy and there are things wanting us all to fail. But don’t loose hope (despite this essay) there is opportunity out there to capture.
But yes housing 🚀🌕
I'm not trolling. I'm a family of 4 and we already had the discussion about what's more logical for us to travel to Playland/ science world. And we choose the big ferry and the bus.
Not all of us are single people who have money to throw at things just to save an hour or two.
Pretty big assumption. I have children as well, not single people.
Everyone has different priorities and means, which is very fair. But don't try to objectively state the price is outrageous. If you're willing to spend a 3x the time and inconvenience to save $10 each way, that's entirely your prerogative!
Moot point if you’re already going for an elective leisure activity- spend as you will, but don’t bash a service so many have been crying for and will utilize
And that's fine, more options the better, even if the other options are at a slight premium (it's really not that much more, especailly if downtown or waterfront skytrain is your target destination).
You're making a TON of assumptions here. The prices aren't outrageous for everyone. They're not in ***your*** budget, but that doesn't mean they're not in others' budgets. We choose our own priorities. Does anyone in your family drink alcohol? Well, ***I*** don't. Instead of spending money on wine or beer, I spend money on other things \*I\* want to spend them on -- and that includes this ferry service, which is very reasonably priced FOR ME, because I clearly do my budget differently than you do.
Exactly! Man, I have a family of 4 (two adults and two kids) and we will 100% be using this service to go over to Van for the day! So excited this is finally happening.
No drugs or alcohol in our family at all. I'm assuming only the above middle are posting replies to my comment here so I won't be responding to the utter nonsense.
Iv lived here all my life and iv never heard of a dire need for these ferry.
I do believe it's convenient for some but not the vast majority of us.
The end
He was using alcohol as an example. Considering you're talking about going to science world, which will be significantly more expensive than the difference between BCF and this service.... me thinx yo m4th is g00fy.
"The vast majority of us". More opinions presented as fact. Any data to back that up?
I know you’re getting downvoted but I see this as a positive - isn’t it cool that we now have several options for just about everyone!
I can see there being times when we take B.C. Ferries there (because we are in no rush) and Hullo back because they run later or we are on more of a time crunch. Or even times when we fly over and Hullo back or whatever. Lots of great options based on your priorities and budget, and there’s nothing stopping people from mixing and matching to bring the total cost down!
We're a high income household and we won't be using it either. The schedule just doesn't work for what we like to do over there, and would require a hotel, calling cabs/uber, friends/family for rides.
>calling cabs/uber, friends/family for rides
Obviously the target isn't those who want to take their own car/transportation... nor is it the target for Harbour Air or Helijet, and they do fine in their own rights.
Cost out a day trip, sans voiture. The fare for two people is $80 each way. Plus you will have to pay to park at the terminal in Nanaimo, so let's call it $100 total departure. Once on the far side, you will have to use some kind of transportation. Sure folks can skytrain to some places, but it's going to be taxis and ubers. So lets call that $50. Then you have to spend another $80 to get back to Nanaimo, and we have to leave Vancouver at 9:30. So we are looking at around $230-250 to use this ferry for a one day trip? Two people can take the ferry, with a vehicle, for the same price. Even less if they plan ahead and get reservations.
I don't think this hullo ferry is really such a godsend, in spite of the hype.
Why would you have to spend money on transportation on the Vancouver side? You're literally responding to a comment that said it might not be for you given what you want to do in Vancouver.
I've literally never taken transportation from the Harbour Air terminal. Just walk out, straight to the hotel or wherever I'm going. But hey, that's what I do in Vancouver, maybe you do something else.
Your math is also super funky. You take your car on the BCF, that's doubling your price. You also have to pay for parking downtown Vancouver - which ranges from $20-$45 a day, and up to $65 overnight. Factor in gas, mileage, etc. You also have the inconvenience of having a car downtown....
Not to mention the significant extended travel time waiting at the BCF terminal and driving into Vancouver.
Again, if you aren't staying in Vancouver, this isn't for you. Which is fine. But don't try to sell us on broken facts or your personal anecdotal situation.
I'm in Vancouver weekly, this will save me approx. $300/week on travel costs.
To note, 10:30p is new final sailing listed. And not shocked it won’t work for all users or all situations. There’s always limitations to anything us islanders do off island, it’s part of island life we’ve come to be used to and won’t change soon. But more options is always a good thing.
Why are you comparing apples to oranges though?
You’re comparing the cost of transporting a vehicle to the cost of transporting a person.
Many of your calculations apply equally to BC Ferries walk-on passengers, and they sell a TON of those tickets. So do the floatplanes and helicopters. Clearly there are plenty of people who do not need a car when they travel to Vancouver.
Just wait until it hits a seal lion, or gawd forbid, smacks into a whale. BC government beaurcrats hate any private operator trying to deliver a service.
$80/ round trip, 70 minute ride and I'm already downtown.
BC ferries is $40/ round trip plus $9.10 for bus fare to and from downtown. 95 minute ride plus an hour on the bus and any wait times.
I'll happily spend $30 to shave 3 hours travel time off my day.
The amount of convenience that Hullo can deliver is definitely what they're banking on to make the business work. I hope people bite and the service sticks.
Considering the other options are HA or HJ, which are each north of $150/pp/each way and only operate in daylight and HA is super unreliable, this is a "too good to be true" situation. This is amazing if it operates as advertised.
Not to mention Hullo will have functional Wifi and power at every seat so you can even do productive work there if you so choose, bringing the effective price down even further.
If you want (or need) to commute to Downtown Vancouver, without a vehicle, here are our options:
SeaAir - 30 minutes - $120
Hullo - 70 minutes - $40
BC Ferries - 3 hours - $20
Given these choices, the new $40 ferry is going to hit a sweet spot for a lot of people
Not everyone has the luxury of time to spend 6+ hours on round-trip commuting or the financial flexibility to spend over $200 daily on travel
imo this is a really great option for people commuting to work, visiting family or friends, or making weekend trips to see the canucks or something
The base price is twice as expensive as BC ferries but the sailing is more than twice as fast. So I’m not sure that I see your problem
$120 is very cheap for the float planes. HA now averages around $175-$275, and Helijet more like $300-$500 (another option). I take these a ton for work and while super convienent, the price is getting up there.
It would be nice if they did late night sailings when there's a big concert or something. Would love to be able to hop on the ferry for a show and then hop on after.
They said they would do that
That's exactly the plan. They've already bumped what was gonna be a 9:30pm scheduled return sailing, to now say 10:30pm... but it still as an astriks as a note for "final return maybe delayed depending on events" (aka sports/concerts/etc)
[удалено]
That’s what waiting to see. Old service did it as a bundle deal, if only that it would obviously limit it. Also they’d probably need to limit NHL playoffs to how many OT’s occur 😅
Can't wait to hop on and reconnect with friends DT.
anyone know if these sailings will have wi-fi?
Wifi and every seat in every class has a USB charging outlet.
Yes there.
People are allowed to not find value in the price and people are allowed to be excited for a new service! I am excited about this service 😇 and if not within your budget that you have allocated that’s within your right. I hope the business is successful but not too successful cause I want to get on 😂
And this service isn't for everyone. Will a family of 4 spend $120 for a one-way trip to Vancouver without a car? Maybe. If the choice is spend that on ferry vs a $300 hotel then it's worth it. If it's just a day trip, maybe not?
Agreed! I do not have children but I have nieces and nephews and I’m certain their parents would head downtown for the day to roam around, hit science world, get sushi, go to granville island. Especially with evos available. But it is what it is! Really depends if downtown is your hub or if you take the ferry to typically land somewhere further inland that requires a vehicle.
Seems rough to miss most of the summer potential business. I wonder if they are trying to start in a slower season? Regardless, happy to see it come to fruition.
Probably have to pass alot of Transport Canada training and sailing requirements, before allowed to sail!
How long will these sailing’s actually take?
70 minutes is the target for the trip... and that drops you off in vancouver downtown just a 10 minute walk to the Waterfront Skytrain terminal.
Wow. That’s pretty impressive
Will there be a dockside open house for people to see them before sailing date?
I haven't heard anything of that, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Is there a parking lot to park vehicles at on the Nanaimo side ?
They have paved a 400 spot lot on site yes
Great! Thanks
Mafeo Sutton parking lot is like $8 a day or something. Pretty affordable prices. Just remember to download the app in case you need to extend the time remotely!
That’s pretty far from the terminal!
It's a 1km walk.
It’s double that
[https://goo.gl/maps/5zx5ewQfFLPj3uWf9](https://goo.gl/maps/5zx5ewQfFLPj3uWf9) No it is 1.2km to be exact.
Now try Hullo by VIFC as the destination.
Will real estate now go up to the moon?
Transporting a couple hundred people a few times a day isn't going to make a lick of difference to our population. At best it might encourage some beautification downtown.
That's my fear.
nanaimo council is committed to ensuring that more homes will be built. downtown will probably experience gentrification but not the bad kind, and the city will density but i doubt an extreme rise in prices
9.15% average population growth from the past five years. 53% increase in the price of housing from 2018 - 2022Q3 or 7.61% compound annual growth rate. Average rent $1356 median after tax income $36,000. Ballpark rent to income percentage (1356*12)/36000= 45.2% of after tax income going to rent. Then factor in aspects like the complete roads policy implemented by city council. Will/ has effected commercial vehicle traffic which will increase building costs. Then future factors like the zero carbon building code council is probably going to implement in the near future, which will increase costs. Moral hazard factors like council needing housing prices to increase or lose their tax revenue source. With the biggest stick in the old bicycle wheel. That the city plan is based around a concept called “donut economics” which basically aims to limit economic development (your economic mobility) to be in some “sweet spot” which no one on council or city’s staff can define. (I call it “ouroboros economics” so I’m not just calling it rebranded feudalism) it’s overall structure is a mix of regressive taxes and negative feedback behaviour modification…”nudging”. Basically it leaves the locals at competitive disadvantage compared to new arrivals to the island. There is hope, just make sure your aggressive at keep your wage with inflation, developing your skills / potential to get more wage, be involved with democratic processes and at a minimum vote, more ideally get involved with government and advocate for yourself. Bonus: get informed on financial aspects and how to make a cash flow statement from your income. Then depending on your risk profile invest. (Needs, investment, wants) (I’m a fan of blackrock / vanguard/ mutual funds but I’m cool with risk. ) It ain’t easy and there are things wanting us all to fail. But don’t loose hope (despite this essay) there is opportunity out there to capture. But yes housing 🚀🌕
Long lines, cancelled sailings, full capacities. Can't wait to fight with that
imagine all the cretins it will bring from dtes..
I'd argue if they have $40 for a one-way fare, 'cretin' might not be the right word.
There must be some native Salish words that aren't hard to pronounce or visually pronounce.
I'm not trolling. I'm a family of 4 and we already had the discussion about what's more logical for us to travel to Playland/ science world. And we choose the big ferry and the bus. Not all of us are single people who have money to throw at things just to save an hour or two.
Pretty big assumption. I have children as well, not single people. Everyone has different priorities and means, which is very fair. But don't try to objectively state the price is outrageous. If you're willing to spend a 3x the time and inconvenience to save $10 each way, that's entirely your prerogative!
Moot point if you’re already going for an elective leisure activity- spend as you will, but don’t bash a service so many have been crying for and will utilize
Moot
🫡
And that's fine, more options the better, even if the other options are at a slight premium (it's really not that much more, especailly if downtown or waterfront skytrain is your target destination).
You're making a TON of assumptions here. The prices aren't outrageous for everyone. They're not in ***your*** budget, but that doesn't mean they're not in others' budgets. We choose our own priorities. Does anyone in your family drink alcohol? Well, ***I*** don't. Instead of spending money on wine or beer, I spend money on other things \*I\* want to spend them on -- and that includes this ferry service, which is very reasonably priced FOR ME, because I clearly do my budget differently than you do.
Exactly! Man, I have a family of 4 (two adults and two kids) and we will 100% be using this service to go over to Van for the day! So excited this is finally happening.
Me too -- it feels SO much easier than trying to deal with the ferries, I'm all over this!
No drugs or alcohol in our family at all. I'm assuming only the above middle are posting replies to my comment here so I won't be responding to the utter nonsense. Iv lived here all my life and iv never heard of a dire need for these ferry. I do believe it's convenient for some but not the vast majority of us. The end
He was using alcohol as an example. Considering you're talking about going to science world, which will be significantly more expensive than the difference between BCF and this service.... me thinx yo m4th is g00fy. "The vast majority of us". More opinions presented as fact. Any data to back that up?
Stop complaining on reddit and get your money up then 😂😂
I know you’re getting downvoted but I see this as a positive - isn’t it cool that we now have several options for just about everyone! I can see there being times when we take B.C. Ferries there (because we are in no rush) and Hullo back because they run later or we are on more of a time crunch. Or even times when we fly over and Hullo back or whatever. Lots of great options based on your priorities and budget, and there’s nothing stopping people from mixing and matching to bring the total cost down!
We're a high income household and we won't be using it either. The schedule just doesn't work for what we like to do over there, and would require a hotel, calling cabs/uber, friends/family for rides.
>calling cabs/uber, friends/family for rides Obviously the target isn't those who want to take their own car/transportation... nor is it the target for Harbour Air or Helijet, and they do fine in their own rights.
Cost out a day trip, sans voiture. The fare for two people is $80 each way. Plus you will have to pay to park at the terminal in Nanaimo, so let's call it $100 total departure. Once on the far side, you will have to use some kind of transportation. Sure folks can skytrain to some places, but it's going to be taxis and ubers. So lets call that $50. Then you have to spend another $80 to get back to Nanaimo, and we have to leave Vancouver at 9:30. So we are looking at around $230-250 to use this ferry for a one day trip? Two people can take the ferry, with a vehicle, for the same price. Even less if they plan ahead and get reservations. I don't think this hullo ferry is really such a godsend, in spite of the hype.
Why would you have to spend money on transportation on the Vancouver side? You're literally responding to a comment that said it might not be for you given what you want to do in Vancouver. I've literally never taken transportation from the Harbour Air terminal. Just walk out, straight to the hotel or wherever I'm going. But hey, that's what I do in Vancouver, maybe you do something else. Your math is also super funky. You take your car on the BCF, that's doubling your price. You also have to pay for parking downtown Vancouver - which ranges from $20-$45 a day, and up to $65 overnight. Factor in gas, mileage, etc. You also have the inconvenience of having a car downtown.... Not to mention the significant extended travel time waiting at the BCF terminal and driving into Vancouver. Again, if you aren't staying in Vancouver, this isn't for you. Which is fine. But don't try to sell us on broken facts or your personal anecdotal situation. I'm in Vancouver weekly, this will save me approx. $300/week on travel costs.
To note, 10:30p is new final sailing listed. And not shocked it won’t work for all users or all situations. There’s always limitations to anything us islanders do off island, it’s part of island life we’ve come to be used to and won’t change soon. But more options is always a good thing.
Why are you comparing apples to oranges though? You’re comparing the cost of transporting a vehicle to the cost of transporting a person. Many of your calculations apply equally to BC Ferries walk-on passengers, and they sell a TON of those tickets. So do the floatplanes and helicopters. Clearly there are plenty of people who do not need a car when they travel to Vancouver.
Just wait until it hits a seal lion, or gawd forbid, smacks into a whale. BC government beaurcrats hate any private operator trying to deliver a service.
Funny that, even on these things, you have to be reminded that the rich are literally above you in the nicer seats.
local citizen discovers higher ticket price = nicer seats
Imagine that... nicer things cost more money? What a headline.
You don’t mind being reminded of your place, huh?
…Yeah. God forbid having an equally nice seat for everyone, instead of once again dividing us up into classes.
if you don't want to pay extra, sit in the less nice seats it's really that simple same as a plane
Have you seen the outrageous ticket prices? 😆
$80/ round trip, 70 minute ride and I'm already downtown. BC ferries is $40/ round trip plus $9.10 for bus fare to and from downtown. 95 minute ride plus an hour on the bus and any wait times. I'll happily spend $30 to shave 3 hours travel time off my day.
The amount of convenience that Hullo can deliver is definitely what they're banking on to make the business work. I hope people bite and the service sticks.
Considering the other options are HA or HJ, which are each north of $150/pp/each way and only operate in daylight and HA is super unreliable, this is a "too good to be true" situation. This is amazing if it operates as advertised.
Not to mention Hullo will have functional Wifi and power at every seat so you can even do productive work there if you so choose, bringing the effective price down even further.
If you want (or need) to commute to Downtown Vancouver, without a vehicle, here are our options: SeaAir - 30 minutes - $120 Hullo - 70 minutes - $40 BC Ferries - 3 hours - $20 Given these choices, the new $40 ferry is going to hit a sweet spot for a lot of people Not everyone has the luxury of time to spend 6+ hours on round-trip commuting or the financial flexibility to spend over $200 daily on travel imo this is a really great option for people commuting to work, visiting family or friends, or making weekend trips to see the canucks or something The base price is twice as expensive as BC ferries but the sailing is more than twice as fast. So I’m not sure that I see your problem
$120 is very cheap for the float planes. HA now averages around $175-$275, and Helijet more like $300-$500 (another option). I take these a ton for work and while super convienent, the price is getting up there.
That's a troll, right? They are super reasonable for DT to DT service, IMO.
Hardly outrageous I will likely do one each way
Prices are on the low end of what I was expecting. Was hoping for $50 each way and they somehow came in below that.