BC Ferries Service Fee

WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia is entering a process to establish the service fee which it will contribute to the operation of BC Ferries for the second performance term 20082012 of the Coastal Ferry Services Contract; AND WHEREAS the Province finances the creation of transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges, tunnels, fresh water ferries, Skytrains and buses, for other communities in British Columbia, and pays a higher proportion of the operational costs of urban public transit than BC Ferries receives: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that the Minister of Transportation recognize the importance of reliable and affordable ferry service to coastal communities by: 1 Increasing the service fee the Province will pay BC Ferries for the next performance term sufficiently to ensure that fare increases do not exceed increases in the Consumer Price Index; 2 Contributing to BC Ferries capital costs in a similar proportion to the support given for highway construction and other public transportation infrastructure; 3 Paying a share of extraordinary expenses, such as higher than predicted fuel costs, at least equal to the percentage of operating costs covered by the service fee; and 4 Recognizing the need to regularly assess the impact of the Provinces ferry policies on coastal communities by establishing ongoing consultation with elected municipal, regional and Islands Trust representatives and with the ferry advisory committees whose members are appointed by BC Ferries through local government.