Nanaimo-Info-blog: BC Ferries and Local Taxis Welcome You To Nanaimo

BC Ferries Arrival Termial, Departure Bay, Nanaimo BC
Just outside the Terminal. Cabs only drop people off. Can not pick you up!
Somewhere out there is a cab stand. If you head to the cement  truck!
Around the bend, if you have binoculars you can see the cab stand.
Finally, you have found it! Good for You!
Welcome To NanaimoWelcome To Hell
The title of course is a little ‘over the top’ but if you happen to arrive in beautiful Nanaimo via BC Ferries, after dark on a wet and rainy fall or winter night, you just might think you have arrived in hell if you need a cab!
The above series of photos were taken on Saturday around noon, and it was overcast and cool, but there was at least daylight and no rain to contend with. Neither did I have to deal with luggage or a few children in tow. It will really be delightful if we encounter one of our winter snow storms!
The first simply shows the arrival gate of the BC Ferry terminal at Departure Bay, which of course is where passengers end up once leaving the ferry. The second shows a view of the parking lot from the arrival terminal, and if you think you can hail one of the yellow cabs you see, forget it, they are only there to drop off passengers.
The third picture shows a view from the lot, near the terminal in the general direction of the taxi stand. Of course if you are from out of town, or not used to the new levels of service being offered, you have no reason to look in that direction.
The fourth photo shows the view towards the taxis stand after you come around the bend in the road which leaves the Ferry Terminal. If you know what you are looking for, or if you have binoculars, you will be able to see some light at the end of the tunnel. However, if it is dark and raining, there is no reason you would want to continue down this road.
The final picture shows the cab stand when you are nearly there, a stand which is in no way visible from the ferry terminal or half way across the parking lot for that matter.
So What Is Going On Here?
From what I have been able to gather, the condensed version of this little drama goes something like this:
For years and years the local taxi companies have been able to pick up fares at the Departure Bay Terminal without giving BC Ferries a kick back for that privilege. The new ferry management under the direction of Mr. Hahn, has decided they can collect more money by charging the cab companies who wish to pick up passengers at the terminal.
The ferry corp. and the taxi companies entered into negotiations and at one time the cab companies thought they had a deal which had been agreed to by the local terminal manager. This precedes the current renovations that were done at the terminal. After the terminal was complete, that manager went elsewhere, and the previous ‘deal’ was off the table.
At one time the cab companies dealt with BC Ferries trying to come to acceptable terms, someplace along the way, Robbins Parking became the bargaining agent for the Ferry Corp. BC Ferries said they wanted $18,000 a year from both cab companies, the cab companies offered $7,000, an offer that was made to Robbins, and which was neither accepted or rejected officially.
We now have a Mexican standoff with both sides digging in their heels and at the present time neither side is even willing to discuss the matter. They both seem to have forgotten a cardinal principle of good business, and that is providing the best possible service to your customers. At the present, it is not causing BC Ferry any grief, unless of course it is Hahn’s wife and kids trekking across the parking lot on a cold, rainy night.
The cab companies are not likely losing either, as customers who NEED a cab will find them sooner or later.
The Solution?
Both sides need to put on their ‘big boy’ pants and realize they BOTH have an obligation to the travelling public and they need to resolve this matter before someone winds up being seriously injured. The Mayor seems to have no clout in the matter, as his approach to Hahn was pretty much just laughed off with the suggestion Nanaimo quit taxing ferries for using Departure Bay.
Everyone it seems is only interested in their own personal bottom line, and to hell with the customers! Which is pretty much where this article started, wasn’t it??
Comment: Where the heck is the ‘real’ fifth estate in this town? How come they are not making all sorts of noise about this anyway?

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