News from a public transport system that works:
"Qantas intended spending $10 million on introducing its Cityflyer brand, which now operates between the six main Australian centres, to New Zealand. That would include:
* A $3 million upgrade of domestic club lounges in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
* Refurbishing aircraft cabins.
* Self-serve check-in kiosks at airports.
* An enhanced free food service and morning newspapers.
* A free bar service from 4pm on weekdays."
While I read that, sitting on a wind and rain-swept Auckland ferry Pier 2, I can't but marvel with envy at how the free airline market caters for its passengers. Imagine what ferry travel would be like if there were Qantas ferries competing with Infratil for customers. We'd be pampered with Koru club style waiting facilities instead of wino hangouts; have refurbished ferries that don't stink of diesel and freshly pumped out sewage; ferries that might actually arrive on time instead of patronizing warnings that ferries will not wait for you; and all for prices that can go down instead of always up.
(I'm only using the ferry as an analogy, the same is of course true for bus and train services)
Come on, Qantas/Pacific Blue/AirNZ, branch out into our transport mode and give a heave to bad and expensive service.
Why is the ARTA negligent in its job for it guarantees the present monopoly gouging to continue? And how do we get rid of it?
My point is that the lack of competition is the direct cause of bad and overpriced service on ferries. 1,000 commuting passengers a day is a large market - how many plane routes or bus lines carry that many people twice a day in New Zealand?
Virgin runs planes and trains in the UK, so multiple transport modes can be run by one company (Infratil runs buses, ferries and airports!) - hell, they could even offer "frequent flyer points" applicable to all their transport modes.
Booking seats on ferries in advance would be quite handy and those advance sales are attractive for traveler and company alike, as it does for planes and the Naked Bus Co. It would force Fullers to actually deliver a reliable and attractive service instead of the guaranteed monopoly they enjoy now.
Imagine if you could book your daily commute bus seat: no more standing room only and the driver knows where to pick up his booked passengers. Guaranteed filled seats and regular income - perhaps even without a public subsidy. Everybody would be better off with some lateral thinking and free market innovation.
There would be nothing wrong with cut price peak services and extra charges for extra services like a Koru Club or free drinks. It would offer passengers choice. Now the only choice we have is a stinking Jet Raider at first class fares.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query pacific ferries. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query pacific ferries. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Ferry fare increase
From August 1 Fullers Ferries is increasing fares by double current consumer price inflation. A monthly pass will now cost $260, up from $245. This without any noticeable increase in services: still no all night boats on weekends, still the decrepit Jet Raider, still waste disposal into the Gulf. It's a prime example of monopoly price gouging: there is no competition (Pacific Ferries were soon dispensed with), no alternative land route for islanders, and (crucially for a monopoly to be able to price its goods unfettered) no public subsidy.
In comparison, yesterday, Stagecoach had the audacity to ask the ARTA for a subsidy for the Half Moon Bay run because passenger fares didn't cover costs. Now Fullers in its pamphlet, spinning the price increases, says a "fall in patronage" and an "increase in fuel prices" make it inevitable to rack up fares. I wonder how that will increase patronage - any normal market based business would lower prices to increase demand. But then Fullers has always been exempt from the laws of capitalism. So much easier to soak the rich on Waiheke. (7,000 residents pay $8 million in rates)
There was a spontaneous petition doing the rounds on this morning's boats, but only a reigning in from above will do. But will I hold my breath?
In comparison, yesterday, Stagecoach had the audacity to ask the ARTA for a subsidy for the Half Moon Bay run because passenger fares didn't cover costs. Now Fullers in its pamphlet, spinning the price increases, says a "fall in patronage" and an "increase in fuel prices" make it inevitable to rack up fares. I wonder how that will increase patronage - any normal market based business would lower prices to increase demand. But then Fullers has always been exempt from the laws of capitalism. So much easier to soak the rich on Waiheke. (7,000 residents pay $8 million in rates)
There was a spontaneous petition doing the rounds on this morning's boats, but only a reigning in from above will do. But will I hold my breath?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Annus horribilis continues
Adding insult to injury, as one of my fellow commuters put it succinctly, Fullers ferries is having another season of engine breakdowns, shoddy service and a general Winter of discontent among its customers. It doesn't seem to be enough for them to announce extraordinary inflated price rises, but to reduce the service to a slow trickle akin to water torture.
Last night the hordes waiting for the 6.30pm had a sinking feeling all was not well, what with the Jet Raider already out of action for over a week, and now the Discoverer laid up with engine trouble too. It was left to that dinky toy, Quickcat II, to do a major commuter run and it chugged into port already 10 minutes late. The hardworking Fullers tannoy announcer (almost as hardworking as the Fullers ferry delay/cancellation text information disseminator) tried to assure us it would only be five minutes - but we all know what Fullers' definition of 5 minutes is: it's comparable to its claim the journey time to Waiheke is 35 minutes, but not many boats have actually achieved that claim without blowing a gasket.
So we all filed onto the Quickcat II (it always reminds me of live sheep shipments) to be squashed together and with knowledge that not everybody would be able to board. Packed to the rafters and all set to go, the captain informed us that we would not be leaving until St John's Ambulance staff had picked up a patient off the boat, who had been lying in sick bay when everybody got on. And the ambulance wasn't turning up soon.
Meanwhile the Superflyte was arriving back from Waiheke - as if it was lapping the Quickcat II in a cycle race. Now the captain informed us that Superflyte would be leaving at 7.15pm and would make it to Waiheke far faster than his toy boat could. So the hordes disembarked to change boats, filing past the mortified patient again, who I hope didn't think it was his fault he inconvenienced those 200 people.
So my commuting time last night from work to home took three hours. No apology from Fullers on Superflyte, not even a discounted drink on board. Surely Fullers is an odds-on favourite for worst customer service company in New Zealand.
After a flurry of press activity on and off-island (with a promise of article in the next Herald on Sunday to come), the rock dwellers are now looking at what more direct action to take when the fare hikes bite come Monday. We've been asked to wear black to mourn the death of diversity on Waiheke by all that economic cleansing, and a symbolic coffin will be carried.
I've added my $44 worth:
- Boycott the ferry cafes longterm. They've pocketed your $44 drinks budget already in the monthly pass price rise
- Ask the ARC/ARTA to cancel the alcohol purchase restrictions and replace their on-board licences with BYO licences. If you can bring your coffee on board, why not your own beer?
- Ask the Commerce Commission to launch an inquiry into the monopolistic and anti-competitive practices by Fullers/Stagecoach/Infratil, looking at the barriers for a competitive service on the Waiheke ferry service, and the dereliction of duty by ARTA/ARC when they allowed Fullers to buy Pacific Ferries.
- Ask the ARC/ARTA to call for tenders for a competitive service, including integrated ticketing on buses to prevent level field distortions
- Ask the ARC/ARTNL/ACC to refund the $20 a month wharf charge to passengers, which is now being pocketed by Fullers. No wharf charges should be imposed especially as third world conditions on Pier 2 persist. Wharves should be funded from general infrastructure investment (as trains stations and bus stops are), not from a departure tax. (And since Waiheke passengers paid for all the Auckland region wharves, can we now assume proper ownership of them too, so we can set our own charges for use)
Last night the hordes waiting for the 6.30pm had a sinking feeling all was not well, what with the Jet Raider already out of action for over a week, and now the Discoverer laid up with engine trouble too. It was left to that dinky toy, Quickcat II, to do a major commuter run and it chugged into port already 10 minutes late. The hardworking Fullers tannoy announcer (almost as hardworking as the Fullers ferry delay/cancellation text information disseminator) tried to assure us it would only be five minutes - but we all know what Fullers' definition of 5 minutes is: it's comparable to its claim the journey time to Waiheke is 35 minutes, but not many boats have actually achieved that claim without blowing a gasket.
So we all filed onto the Quickcat II (it always reminds me of live sheep shipments) to be squashed together and with knowledge that not everybody would be able to board. Packed to the rafters and all set to go, the captain informed us that we would not be leaving until St John's Ambulance staff had picked up a patient off the boat, who had been lying in sick bay when everybody got on. And the ambulance wasn't turning up soon.
Meanwhile the Superflyte was arriving back from Waiheke - as if it was lapping the Quickcat II in a cycle race. Now the captain informed us that Superflyte would be leaving at 7.15pm and would make it to Waiheke far faster than his toy boat could. So the hordes disembarked to change boats, filing past the mortified patient again, who I hope didn't think it was his fault he inconvenienced those 200 people.
So my commuting time last night from work to home took three hours. No apology from Fullers on Superflyte, not even a discounted drink on board. Surely Fullers is an odds-on favourite for worst customer service company in New Zealand.
After a flurry of press activity on and off-island (with a promise of article in the next Herald on Sunday to come), the rock dwellers are now looking at what more direct action to take when the fare hikes bite come Monday. We've been asked to wear black to mourn the death of diversity on Waiheke by all that economic cleansing, and a symbolic coffin will be carried.
I've added my $44 worth:
- Boycott the ferry cafes longterm. They've pocketed your $44 drinks budget already in the monthly pass price rise
- Ask the ARC/ARTA to cancel the alcohol purchase restrictions and replace their on-board licences with BYO licences. If you can bring your coffee on board, why not your own beer?
- Ask the Commerce Commission to launch an inquiry into the monopolistic and anti-competitive practices by Fullers/Stagecoach/Infratil, looking at the barriers for a competitive service on the Waiheke ferry service, and the dereliction of duty by ARTA/ARC when they allowed Fullers to buy Pacific Ferries.
- Ask the ARC/ARTA to call for tenders for a competitive service, including integrated ticketing on buses to prevent level field distortions
- Ask the ARC/ARTNL/ACC to refund the $20 a month wharf charge to passengers, which is now being pocketed by Fullers. No wharf charges should be imposed especially as third world conditions on Pier 2 persist. Wharves should be funded from general infrastructure investment (as trains stations and bus stops are), not from a departure tax. (And since Waiheke passengers paid for all the Auckland region wharves, can we now assume proper ownership of them too, so we can set our own charges for use)
Friday, August 15, 2008
An extra turn of the screw
Fullers have finally formulated the way they are going to increase patronage, encourage tourism to Waiheke Island and generally care for the economic well-being of the island: they're putting the fares up by three times the current inflation rate.
A monthly pass will now cost $344 (up from $300, or 15%). A simple fun day out for your family and kids will now cost a small fortune and it'll be cheaper and more convenient to throw them all in the car and drive to Raglan or Ruakaka instead.
The "justification" the company gives is the usual baloney of increased operating and fuel costs (needless to say fares never come down when oil prices fall).
So the economic cleansing of the island continues apace: higher ferry fares will make people look at relocating off-island closer to work, if they have to commute; make it more costly to "import" workers who need to reverse commute to Waiheke (accommodation on the island is hardly affordable for low paid service workers anyway) so provision of services will become more expensive on Waiheke; and it will encourage people on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, to cash up and move out, which is also encouraged by relentless property tax increases imposed by a city council bent on keeping its income stream safe rather than focusing on how much more they rake off the island than spend there in services.
The Fullers-friendly owners of two local newspapers (Marketplace and Waiheke Week) faithfully reprinted the Fullers press release with little comment. Perhaps the deadlines were cleverly observed by the Fullers PR people. But it didn't prevent Waiheke Week (you can always rely on Merv to take the hard-done-by-capitalist company corner against the tree-hugging, rabble-rousing islanders) from editorialising that Fullers has no responsibilities towards Waiheke's economic or social well-being, and new island developments such as Ridgeview and Isola Estate will bring in extra passengers of a kind that never need to look at their black American Express card account, let alone a ferry fare ticket.
You can't blame Fullers for loyally carrying out what any monopoly business would do if it was it its place: squeeze the customer pips til they squeak. Infratil shareholders demand their dividend for buying up the business, and there is no regulator standing in the way of charging the highest fares and delivering the lowest service possible.
So there's the rub: the Auckland Regional Council and its toothless transport regulator have no say in whatever gouging a company like Fullers can engage in, simply because Fuller refuses to accept a subsidy for the Waiheke run as it would come with financial and regulation strings attached. Now it has no minimum service requirements; it can cancel sailings when it wants; organise schedules as it pleases; charge fares it can get away with and employ boats of a dubious quality on its runs. In short, it wants us to pay a first class fare for a cattle class service.
Coincidentally, BBC Hardtalk interviewed Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary last night, saying his business model to attract more customers is to keep on slashing prices and make costs as transparent as possible for passengers. You can now fly "anywhere" in Europe for £10 on his airline and promised not to impose fuel charges on his customers.
Here in New Zealand we have also signs of market forces working in favour of customers in the airline and bus travel industries: Pacific Blue and The Naked Bus offer enticing fares to places all over New Zealand at prices that wouldn't be possible under monopoly conditions. So basically all we need is a "Naked Ferry" company to come in to put a rocket under the Jet Raider and stick it up Fullers where the sun don't shine.
What is now needed is an official inquiry by the Auckland Regional Council into why there is no effective competition possible on the Hauraki Gulf and the ways to remedy this market failure. One clue is the integrated ticketing arrangement between Fullers Ferries, the Waiheke Bus Company and Stagecoach Bus, which allows seamless transfers for commuters (only those with monthly passes) between transport modes. Any new company coming in can't offer this considerable advantage and this has to change by region-wide integrated ticketing between bus, train and ferries with a capped price on monthly usage.
So come on, ARC Chairman Mike Lee, where are your market credentials and your monopoly busting skills when we need them?
UPDATE 1: This morning (18 Aug) Fullers warned passengers on the morning commuter boats that a smaller vessel would be in service due to a Jet Raider "technical failure". It may lead to passengers being denied boarding the 8am sailing. So I took the 7.20am which was more packed than usual. It is clear that Fullers really isn't up to its task of transporting passengers comfortably, at a reasonable price and on time.
UDPATE 2: A version of this blog entry was sent to the NZ Herald as a letter to the editor (which they don't put online) and my fellow commuters shouted that it was splashed all over the page as a headline. Which made me blush, of course. But I hope it will shame Fullers into pulling their socks up and reconsider this price hike as a PR disaster.
UPDATE 3: I mailed this blog entry to all Auckland councillors on the Auckland Regional Council and Chairman Mike Lee got back to me:
A monthly pass will now cost $344 (up from $300, or 15%). A simple fun day out for your family and kids will now cost a small fortune and it'll be cheaper and more convenient to throw them all in the car and drive to Raglan or Ruakaka instead.
The "justification" the company gives is the usual baloney of increased operating and fuel costs (needless to say fares never come down when oil prices fall).
So the economic cleansing of the island continues apace: higher ferry fares will make people look at relocating off-island closer to work, if they have to commute; make it more costly to "import" workers who need to reverse commute to Waiheke (accommodation on the island is hardly affordable for low paid service workers anyway) so provision of services will become more expensive on Waiheke; and it will encourage people on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, to cash up and move out, which is also encouraged by relentless property tax increases imposed by a city council bent on keeping its income stream safe rather than focusing on how much more they rake off the island than spend there in services.
The Fullers-friendly owners of two local newspapers (Marketplace and Waiheke Week) faithfully reprinted the Fullers press release with little comment. Perhaps the deadlines were cleverly observed by the Fullers PR people. But it didn't prevent Waiheke Week (you can always rely on Merv to take the hard-done-by-capitalist company corner against the tree-hugging, rabble-rousing islanders) from editorialising that Fullers has no responsibilities towards Waiheke's economic or social well-being, and new island developments such as Ridgeview and Isola Estate will bring in extra passengers of a kind that never need to look at their black American Express card account, let alone a ferry fare ticket.
You can't blame Fullers for loyally carrying out what any monopoly business would do if it was it its place: squeeze the customer pips til they squeak. Infratil shareholders demand their dividend for buying up the business, and there is no regulator standing in the way of charging the highest fares and delivering the lowest service possible.
So there's the rub: the Auckland Regional Council and its toothless transport regulator have no say in whatever gouging a company like Fullers can engage in, simply because Fuller refuses to accept a subsidy for the Waiheke run as it would come with financial and regulation strings attached. Now it has no minimum service requirements; it can cancel sailings when it wants; organise schedules as it pleases; charge fares it can get away with and employ boats of a dubious quality on its runs. In short, it wants us to pay a first class fare for a cattle class service.
Coincidentally, BBC Hardtalk interviewed Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary last night, saying his business model to attract more customers is to keep on slashing prices and make costs as transparent as possible for passengers. You can now fly "anywhere" in Europe for £10 on his airline and promised not to impose fuel charges on his customers.
Here in New Zealand we have also signs of market forces working in favour of customers in the airline and bus travel industries: Pacific Blue and The Naked Bus offer enticing fares to places all over New Zealand at prices that wouldn't be possible under monopoly conditions. So basically all we need is a "Naked Ferry" company to come in to put a rocket under the Jet Raider and stick it up Fullers where the sun don't shine.
What is now needed is an official inquiry by the Auckland Regional Council into why there is no effective competition possible on the Hauraki Gulf and the ways to remedy this market failure. One clue is the integrated ticketing arrangement between Fullers Ferries, the Waiheke Bus Company and Stagecoach Bus, which allows seamless transfers for commuters (only those with monthly passes) between transport modes. Any new company coming in can't offer this considerable advantage and this has to change by region-wide integrated ticketing between bus, train and ferries with a capped price on monthly usage.
So come on, ARC Chairman Mike Lee, where are your market credentials and your monopoly busting skills when we need them?
UPDATE 1: This morning (18 Aug) Fullers warned passengers on the morning commuter boats that a smaller vessel would be in service due to a Jet Raider "technical failure". It may lead to passengers being denied boarding the 8am sailing. So I took the 7.20am which was more packed than usual. It is clear that Fullers really isn't up to its task of transporting passengers comfortably, at a reasonable price and on time.
UDPATE 2: A version of this blog entry was sent to the NZ Herald as a letter to the editor (which they don't put online) and my fellow commuters shouted that it was splashed all over the page as a headline. Which made me blush, of course. But I hope it will shame Fullers into pulling their socks up and reconsider this price hike as a PR disaster.
UPDATE 3: I mailed this blog entry to all Auckland councillors on the Auckland Regional Council and Chairman Mike Lee got back to me:
"I have raised this issue with ARTA in terms of what we can do and will respond in more detail as soon as possible.
I completely share your concerns especially given the news that some very questionable arrangement has enabled Fullers to pocket the public's wharf tax component of the ticket. I have raised these concerns in the media to put the spotlight on Fullers."
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