BC Ferries - The Ups and Downs, and the Questions Never Asked on the Website

If anyone like me has a great road trip to Canada recently, some people may not have noticed what I saw when I got to take a look at the two largest ships in BC Ferries' fleet - the Spirit of Vancouver Island and the Spirit of British Columbia. The official name is called "British Columbia Ferry Services", hence the name of BC Ferries.  But first, let me start with the basics as I was researching more about the ship...


BC Ferries, according to their website, started out officially in June 1960 when ferry service was needed to connect between Tsawwassen (Vancouver) and Swartz Bay (Victoria), with passenger traffic starting to increase shortly afterwords. More ships started to enter service throughout the next few decades. The biggest ships started service in 1993 when the Spirit of British Columbia was completed, with the second ship, Spirit of Vancouver Island, followed suit one year later. BC Ferries then decided to add more ships to their fleet with the additions of three new ships; one of which was to supplement the most popular route among BC Ferries' routes: Tsawwassen - Swartz Bay.

Ever since I first came to Canada to witness the two largest ships in BC Ferries' fleet, my experience overall was a lot better than my experiences on ship routes between Hong Kong and Macau as I have vomited on some of the ships owned by companies like TurboJET and New World First Ferries. However, BC Ferries can improve on the following that I find, so I posed a few questions that I uncovered of which BC Ferries never mentioned on their website or on a Facebook wall post. Note that this is to the best of my knowledge based on my experience unless answered by BC Ferries.

QUESTION 1: WILL BC FERRIES HAVE A SAME-DAY ROUND TRIP OPTION? WHAT ABOUT SMART CARD AND MOBILE TICKETING?

When I first went on BC Ferries, purchasing a ticket was a breeze, but reducing waste from paper may be in their mind. I wish that they provide a system that can also use smart card capabilities similar to those of Hong Kong's transit system using an Octopus card or the Bay Area's Clipper card system, using the "tag on" and "tag off" method.

If BC Ferries do not wish to use a smart card method, there should be an option for a same-day round-trip between the two destinations of choice. However, nowhere on BC Ferries' website has any information about a same-day round trip between the destinations of choice.

A third possible method for BC Ferries could be to use a mobile ticketing system similar to what the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is planning to use as a result of the upcoming BART extension and Levi's Stadium events, as VTA is developing mobile ticketing for use as a payment option on some of their light rail and bus routes. This option to me would allow BC Ferries to save about 25 cents per paper ticket.

QUESTION 2: WILL BC FERRIES ACCEPT AMERICAN OR FOREIGN CURRENCY?

My answer is not that easy - no American or foreign currency will be accepted at any terminals as cash; only Canadian currency is accepted in those cases, particularly when parking at any of the terminals as there is a fee to park. However, when I explored the ship called Spirit of Vancouver Island, there was an indicator at several vending machines that both Canadian and American currency are accepted. I personally have never tested any vending machines using US dollar bills and coins, so it's not a guarantee that US dollar bills and coins are accepted at those vending machines. In addition, as for the rest of the food and shop outlets, even though vending machines says about accepting both Canadian and American currency, I do assume that Canadian currency is the only method accepted while on any BC Ferries' trips.

There is no direct evidence by my exploration of the Spirit of British Columbia, Spirit of Vancouver Island, and other large ships in BC Ferries' fleet that would suggest accepting both Canadian and American currency (questions about credit/debit cards are found on BC Ferries' website).

QUESTION 3: IS BC FERRIES ANY DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE SHIPS, FEATURES, AND SECURITY?

Not necessarily - take both the Spirit of British Columbia and the Spirit of Vancouver Island for example. While most of the interior has the same features like the food courts, buffets, and a gift shop, some people may notice something differently, especially in where the security cameras may be positioned. For instance, security cameras positioned near the elevators on deck 6 of the Spirit of Vancouver Island may not be seen similarly on the Spirit of British Columbia. In either case, my advice is to be very careful - the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) can prosecute anyone caught on camera for violations including, but not limited to, vandalism, unlawful entry, or trespassing as per Canadian law.

QUESTION 4: WHY IS BC FERRIES NEEDED FOR CROSSINGS BETWEEN TWO ROUTES INSTEAD OF BUILDING A BRIDGE?

The BC Ferries' website reveals that on some of the routes, especially between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, does enter the United States' border for about 5 miles (~9 kilometers). If a bridge was to be built, then the Canadian government would need to ask the United States federal government for permission to build a bridge between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, which would be highly unlikely, as part of that route (BC Route 17) is owned by the U.S. and not Canada. For other routes, the waters in Canada between the mainland BC and Vancouver Island may be either too deep or it's due to the budget required to build such a bridge such as Trans-Canada (also BC) route 1 on the Nanaimo - Horseshoe Bay ship route.


This is opposed to what transit methods the San Francisco Bay Area uses, as several bridges like the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the San Mateo Bridge, the Dumbarton Bridge, and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge connect from one side of the bay to the other, although similar ships like the San Francisco Bay Ferry still exists as an alternate to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, though with less amenities than what the largest ships on BC Ferries' fleet carries.


If anyone has any inquiries after reading this blog, please feel free to e-mail me or comment below.

Planning/Original Work: Kyle Chak
Twitter: @KyleSChak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com

Cinco De Mayo 2014 on the Streets of Downtown San Jose

It was the evening of Cinco de Mayo in 2014, and I finally got tired of doing all of my assignments and needed to take a break. I decided to test my walking skills for a couple of hours - most of which occured on the intersection of Fourth and Santa Clara Streets in downtown San Jose. San Jose Police Department (SJPD), the San Jose State University Police Department (UPD), and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) was out all night looking for bad behavior on the streets of downtown San Jose and in East San Jose, where the trouble spots were last year. I'm only an ordinary pedestrian at that time, not an actual decoy of any department.

My mission for the next couple of hours was to test my safety on the crosswalks and find out if anyone is abiding by the rules of the road, according to the driver's handbook. This was not the first time that I had tested my crosswalk safety. I had some incidents on Bay Area roadways that I nearly got hit by an incoming car who either ran red lights or failed to stop for a pedestrian as required by law.

The first time that I encountered a police cruiser while was in Albany, on the intersection of San Pablo Avenue and Castro Street, which that was when I decided to test my pedestrian safety. One of the cars while I attempted to cross the street failed to stop and was only three feet from hitting me, which led to a surprise stop by the officer who was observing me crossing the street.

But in downtown San Jose, I noted that multiple cruisers were on the scene that came from more than one police department. SJPD had made numerous stops on cars along Santa Clara Street from First to Tenth Streets, as most of the stops were for various violations. While still on the same intersection testing my pedestrian skills, I noticed that one of the drivers never having their lights on at night in which that driver was heading westbound on Santa Clara Street, which the CHP caught up instantly. Among all of my pedestrian tests, at least two drivers failed to yield to me attempting to cross the street while the "walking" pedestrian signal was on. The most notable of them all was when a gray Audi failed to stop at the signal and was only inches from hitting me.

The night overall was a lot nicer than last year despite the loud music from many cars and trucks and holding Mexican flags on Cinco de Mayo. 

SJPD and the CHP were not the only ones that were out there looking for dangerous drivers. I also saw at least two UPD cruisers as they were also brought in to help crack down on dangerous drivers. By the end of the night, at least one of the UPD officers did wave at me in part because the other UPD officer may also have spotted me. I'll be surprised if the two officers do contact me, as I personally do want to thank them for protecting the streets near the main SJSU campus that night.

Original Work: Kyle Chak
Twitter: @KyleSChak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com

Uncovering the Other Side of BART - A Continuation of BART and 511 Under the Microscope

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a heavy rail that spans from Fremont to Richmond, Millbrae to Pittsburg/Baypoint and Dublin/Pleasanton, totaling 104 miles in all. Many San Francisco, Berkeley, and downtown Oakland stations are underground stations. BART workers are proud of what they do to help serve riders like myself, trying to get from point A to point B. Although most of the BART workers are union members, BART still faces problems - though not related to the strike and fare increases. In this blog, I decided to continue where I left off from my previous blog and go deeper into the concerns of BART in terms of their management and not the union workers that operates trains and goes to work as a station agent.

My first possible answer may be something in part with why BART chose a fare structure that did not satisfy the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC), which operates both the Clipper card and the 511's websites' separately. And even with the opening of the Berryessa extension, I am also concerned that six-car trains that the current Richmond to Fremont line runs won't be enough to shuttle riders when it comes to events held in the East Bay, at the new Levi's Stadium, and at the San Jose Flea Market, which draws huge traffic from those specific areas.

So let's start with the focus on the Berryessa extension that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is building, which is further south of the Warm Springs BART extension. When completed, I hear rumors that lines 180 and 181 might be eliminated, however, VTA did tell me that the they are doing an "Integration Study" to see what changes are to be made when the Berryessa extension is open. Concerns of pedestrian traffic, which I observed while the Berryessa BART station is currently under construction, has the owners of the San Jose Flea Market responding to my inquiry that they are preparing to complete the required construction to address the concerns of BART passengers entering the Flea Market.

The question also lingers in the air of who is going to operate overnight service when the Berryessa extension is complete, particularly on the issue of the connections between the Warm Springs BART station and downtown San Jose where it connects to VTA local line 22, as there is currently no service between Fremont and downtown San Jose as part of the All-Nighter Network. The Alameda - Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) told me that their overnight route (line 801) that serves the Fremont BART station will be passed on to the Planning Department, as AC Transit's overnight route will most likely be unable to serve the Berryessa station, as that station itself is in VTA's coverage area, as is the Milpitas station. VTA, however, has currently no plans to hold overnight service at Milpitas and Berryessa stations, which still questions of how people plan on getting to downtown San Jose from Fremont when BART is not in service during the overnight hours, depending on the day of the week. The current method of taking an overnight trip while BART is not in service is to take AC Transit's line 801 from Fremont, then connect to line 800 in downtown Oakland. Riders would then have to transfer again to samTrans route 397 at the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco before another transfer at the Palo Alto Transit Center/Caltrain station for VTA's line 22 - a 24-hour service that runs between Palo Alto and the Eastridge Transit Center in San Jose.

Questions also arise about BART choosing to run six-car trains during some special events drawing large crowds, which are currently in service for most of the day and night along the "Richmond - Fremont" line. That part will have the name being changed to the "Richmond - Berryessa" line upon completion of the Berryessa extension. For any game day when both the Raiders and 49ers have home games that start at the same time, that could be a big problem that can cripple the driving commute to/from football games. One example of such was when the Oakland Athletics (A's) had a playoff game, causing the Oakland Raiders to move their kickoff start time to 8:30pm on Sunday. On the first game that the A's were in the playoffs, the Richmond - Fremont line were running six-car trains all night long, only reserving the longer trains after the playoff game. Things only improved the next day as the A's playoff game had BART switched from a six-car train that ran between 6AM to 7PM to longer trains than normal for most of the night in part due to the Cal football game. BART had to scramble Sunday's train service to run eight to nine-car trains almost all day and for much of the evening in anticipation of the late-kickoff start time for the Raiders. Rarely does BART end their service day with the last car of the night being an eight to ten-car train - for instance, San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade and Oakland A's home games also had BART scrambling to run the Richmond - Fremont line longer trains than typical, particularly on Sunday when that line ran nine to ten-car trains because of the A's game and the large crowds from the Gay Pride Parade that had Fremont - Daly City line operating on standby.

BART also faces a tough battle over the definition of what the youth age really means, as I first uncovered in my previous blog about BART's accurate fares and putting accurate youth, senior, and disabled fares in the booklet and on BART's website. My talk earlier with a 511 representative revealed that from their perspective, 511 only puts out cash fares for qualifying customers, and in doing so, I revealed that the accurate fares for seniors and the disabled will be much lower when paying with a Clipper card - up to a maximum difference of $7.60 (in 2014 dollars) when taking a combination of BART and Caltrain, as BART's fare structure made 511's trip planning impossible to put their actual accurate fare information on 511's website. My findings also revealed that BART has a culture of acceptance that is similar to VTA, but in BART's case, it largely involves the fare structure, which makes trip planning with accurate fare information very difficult and users having to rely on individual transit agency's website. VTA's problems only involve the credit card use and fare evasion on VTA's light rail when Tony Kovaleski investigated VTA. That is where I picked up where Kovaleski left off after I first uncovered that 511's fare on VTA and BART were inaccurate just after a simple trip planner on 511's website in late 2012, which I then decided to investigate for myself why 511 is not displaying accurate fare information for VTA and possibly other transit agencies within 511's coverage area.

VTA had recently started the process of building the Bay Area's first rapid transit system called "Bus Rapid Transit", known as BRT, held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. During that time, I met up with Dave Cortese, who I first met at the Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association headquarters in the Berryessa neighborhood of San Jose back in February 2014. I took the opportunity to ask a quick question to Cortese, one of the candidates for the mayor of San Jose, who says that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is also figuring out following my blog of what is going on at BART when I reviewed BART's three booklets that I picked up at the Fremont BART station, and none of them reveals the actual fares for qualified people, which are defined as the fares for the youth, senior, and disabled.

I also met Chris Lepe one hour after the ribbon cutting ceremony of the building of the BRT, who is a transit advocate and the community planner for TransForm California's Silicon Valley division. At that time, I was on my way to San Jose State University to cheer on the San Jose State Quidditch* team, who plans to compete in the upcoming tournament, as their teams is the only quidditch team of it's kind in the California State University system. Lepe has not yet read my blog when I met him at the Alum Rock bus stop, but he has provided his take on VTA when Kovaleski investigated both the credit card machines and the fare evasion on VTA.

BART may be thinking about denying the problems that I uncovered on fare problems that 511 was unable to display accurately for qualifying people, but I am already finding that serious problem. Because BART has a culture of acceptance of refusing to put accurate fare table information for the youth and senior/disabled in at least one of the three booklets as mentioned in my previous blog, BART has yet to address that specific issue. I wanted to write an e-mail to BART with pictures attached from my post on 511's wall, but I could not find a dedicated e-mail because BART won't let users send in any e-mails on BART's website that total more than 1000 words. BART's Fares and Schedules booklet only list fares for adults, which is only part of the reason why a 511 representative told me via a private message that while putting up a fare table specifically for qualifying people (also defined as a "concessionary fare") makes sense, 511's trip planner is only able to provide cash fares, noting that a discount fare would be "misleading or confusing", particularly for those with RTC Clipper cards and those holding BART's Red or Green tickets. Fare tables for qualifying people are essential for travelers with disabilities and seniors especially when those people do not have Internet access; those also include anyone that wants to use public transit in the Bay Area.

While there may be a "Coming Soon" as defined in Tony Kovaleski's reports on VTA in terms of the future Levi's Stadium and the double-tracking in Mountain View, there may not be a "coming soon" anytime soon for a fix on BART's "concessionary" fare problems in one of the booklets. For now, until the concessionary fare problems on BART is actually fixed on 511's website when trying to do any transit planning, the only remedy for an accurate fare calculation for the youth, senior, and disabled is to visit individual transit agencies' website within 511's coverage area if people want to use public transit in the Bay Area.


* "Quidditch" is referred to in the actual world as "Muggle Quidditch", which is a sport based on the Harry Potter novel series of which the books are written by J.K. Rowling.

Original Work by Kyle Chak
Twitter: @KyleSChak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com 

Bay Area Public Transit - 511 and BART Under the Microscope: Serious Flaws?

My own writeup about riding public transit systems to anywhere in the Bay Area has now been crucial to letting me know what routes to take, what stops do I begin and end at, and if there are any warnings and advisories that could affect my travels. As a regular rider on Bay Area public transit systems, I generally enjoy the operators taking me to appropriate places within the route that I would stumble upon. The only thing that would be the downside is the cost. So here is my own story of how one of the problems that originally started on a transit agency within 511's coverage area turned out to be a bigger problem upon what I specifically uncovered. From problems with accuracy of fares to the questioning of the mobile websites of some various transit agencies, I was keeping an eye on what was going on among transit agencies.

Before taking public transit to a destination, I generally use a transit planning website like 511 to help plan my trip, as well as to observe any alerts that could affect my travel. In general, the fare is suppose to be accurate depending on what fare setting that a user would be on. But my findings are not really true.


BEYOND PROBLEMS ON TRANSIT AGENCIES, 511

The problem started when one of the Bay Area's transit agency, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), was under the microscope of Tony Kovaleski's two investigations on fare evasion and credit card installation in 2012 on the subject of the light rail and the ticket vending machines that lets the public buy a fare or day pass prior to boarding the light rail. In the "Fare Evasion" investigation, he uncovered that the lack of anyone buying tickets is the cause of people trying to board a train that people could ride for free.

The problem that I am finding is beyond VTA within 511's coverage area and of what Tony Kovaleski has reported. According to VTA's website, the normal fare to ride a VTA express bus is $4, with a youth paying only $1.75 and the person that is a senior or has a type of disability paying only $1, but 511's website did not agree with the fares that VTA has stated on VTA's website. That part of the problem was discovered while I was trying to simply figure out how much I must pay to ride transit to get to a destination, which I decided to go investigate and put 511 under my microscope.

511's problems were so severe that even I had to post numerous times on social media with occasional photos attached to explain what is going on, as I was unable to e-mail 511 when photos are included as part of the evidence of the problem, which I have done at least twice to break down what the actual problems are in terms of fare use. I even had to ask them about what happened to VTA's tweets that never showed up on 511's website (in the Regional Transportation Tweets' section on the front page) in case that there are delays on the light rail, which left many riders with aggressive frustration and attempting to find other ways of getting around. 511 finally got to respond to my investigation on the transit tweets part, and eventually, posted their notice on 511's website about major delays on the light rail. I also asked 511 about the problems of applying the two-hour rule on VTA's light rail on 511's website, which 511 promised a fix on that issue.

The accuracy of the fares was also a problem at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which I personally find to be the most serious of them all. The problems at BART in regards to the accuracy of fares published on 511's website in terms of the fares for qualifying people (the youth, senior, and disabled, including Medicare card holders) are what I am trying to specifically ask about, especially on why BART elected to publish reduced fares for the senior, disabled, and youth exclusively on BART's website and not reflecting on 511's website.

I picked up three booklets at the Fremont BART station to review how BART is dishonest of putting up fares for qualifying people. The three booklets picked up are "BART Basics Guide", "BART Accessibility Guide", and "BART Fares and Schedules". All three booklets provide some information on the 62.5% discount for qualifying people (page 3 of the "BART Basics Guide"; page 2 of the "BART Fares and Schedules"; and in the BART Fares and Tickets section of "BART Accessibility Guide"). On BART's website, the information that I found was similar, though separate red and green tickets do exist. But none of the booklets that I picked up have any fare tables for qualifying people, which leads me to question the use of the fare table, limiting the use to just the full fare-paying customers and not for qualifying people.

To figure out what the actual fares are on BART, which is not found on 511's website when the fare settings are either "Youth", "Senior", or "Disabled", users must go to the "Fare Calculator" section of BART's website. Users are then asked to put what their origin and destination stations are. BART's actual fares for qualifying people (in 2014 dollars) ranges from $0.65 to $4.35 depending on the actual destination between the two points in comparison to $1.85 to $11.65 for full paying-fare customers. The difference of fares shown on 511's website may differ because of BART's fares being off by at least a dollar or two, but especially when taking a combination of BART and Caltrain from downtown San Francisco or anywhere in the East Bay to San Jose Dirdon station. 511's trip planning website would then reveal a difference by up to as much as $4.75 - the actual total fare between Pittsburg / Bay Point and San Jose Dirdon stations riding a combination BART and Caltrain when using an RTC Clipper card is $6.05 (in 2014 dollars), though 511's website still continued to list the cost to ride both BART and Caltrain as $11 - a near $5 difference.* Also to note, if riding from Pittsburg / Bay Point station to San Francisco International Airport on BART using an RTC Clipper card, the difference between the adult and reduced fares is $7.30 by using 511's website.**


THE 511 PERSPECTIVE

One of the 511 representatives did privately message me that some of my findings were only correct, specifically on two occasions that VTA's fare put on 511's website and the problems with BART's actual reduced fare. 511 did admit that there was an error that they guessed that VTA's normal express bus fare is $4 and $2 for seniors/disabled, but never realized the actual fare on express buses for seniors and people with disabilities.

Originally, there appeared to be no problems on BART's fares, but when I revealed the actual fares for qualifying people, the representative said that since the Trip Planner is currently set up to provide only the cash fares to customers, the reduced fare discount is not incorporated into the trip plan fares, which to me further questions the BART youth and senior/disabled fares being in line with AC Transit, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, MUNI, SamTrans, and VTA in terms of fare category as being defined by 511's website and on individual transit agencies' website as mentioned herein. Most transit agencies, according to individual websites, set their youth ages to either 5 to around 17 or 18, but BART opted to set their youth ages instead to 5 to 12, leaving the teenage years to be charged as "adult fares" and not actual reduced fares on most Bay Area transit agencies. This leaves a big hole that 511 is unable to put up accurate fare information for youth and seniors/disabled riding on BART, regardless if using an RTC Clipper card, a Red BART ticket, or a Green BART ticket.

511's problems are not yet over in terms of fare accuracy. Until the problems are actually fixed among all Bay Area transit agencies within 511's coverage area, riders will have to plan their trips going to individual transit agencies' websites, especially if traveling to more than one county in the Bay Area.

BART's problems are also not yet over as well. When I attempted to contact BART about the problem that I have uncovered, I was unable to find a dedicated e-mail to address the problem to BART because the website only allows up to 1000 words at most - I was only able to find an e-mail that I could send to BART's board members while I was aboard one of the BART cars. I was also unable to post any pictures on social media as evidence of the problem. 

BART board members, BART's general manager, Grace Crunican, and/or BART spokesman, Jim Allison (the latter who appears on the news regularly, as well as occasionally on YouTube), have yet to speak about what I have uncovered on the issues of qualifying reduced fares and matching the fares shown on 511's website. While Crunican and Allison may be excited for the new Levi's Stadium opening in Santa Clara, which is only accessible via VTA's light rail, the only thing that the two may not be so excited about is what the response may be to the 511's perspective on BART's missing fare table for qualifying people and not the full adult fare.


MORE ANGER IN THE FORECAST?

Crunican

Grace Crunican

I personally do not think that the solutions will be satisfactory to any transit rider who wants to know the actual fares for qualifying people with disabilities, children, and seniors, especially when it comes to any type of travel involving the use of BART through 511's website. If people recalled the interview with then-VTA general manager Michael Burns by Tony Kovaleski in the Investigative Unit report (before Burns was replaced by Nuria Fernandez), recall that Burns was embarrassed about the improvement of the ticket vending machines and the delays that the organization has faced. Now, the embarrassment could be not only be among VTA workers, but also 511 employees, transit employees within 511's coverage area, and BART union workers as well (and possibly the union presidents of those that work with BART and VTA) after my questioning about the fare accuracy on 511's website - and possibly, a "coming soon" fix.


NOTE ON BLOG: For the next part of my view on BART, please click here.

CORRECTION NOTES:
* indicates the original calculation was originally $7.60, but was recalculated due to an error. This has been corrected.
** indicates the calculation difference between the adult fare ($11.65) and the concessionary fare ($4.35) between Pittsburg / Bay Point and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in 2014 dollars.

Original Work by Kyle Chak
Twitter: @KyleSChak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com