Page Ten  

26 OCTOBER 2004

Tuesday   October 26, 2004

Lenders reviewing new business plan Mayor: Ferry Deal Close by Rocco Vertuccio photo by Chris Coffey Published Oct 26, 2004 Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson says a deal to get the fast ferry running again could be announced within a week. Mayor Johnson confirmed the ferry lenders were in town again last week. They spent two days meeting with the mayor, ferry operators, the New York State Thruway Authority, and at least one potential new investor. New investors both local and from outside the area, are part of a new business plan. Lenders are still reviewing that plan. Mayor Johnson says the meetings went well. He says the ferry could be back in business by this winter. "Everybody is trying to make the deal happen. Whether the boat sails in December or April, the question is, when it does sail, it be on the soundest financial basis and that means we want to make sure everything on the Canadian side is in order," says Johnson. The mayor can't say a lot about the new business plan because of a confidentiality agreement. Once the deal is signed, details, including who the new investors are will be made public. Mayor Johnson did say the new business plan still includes the idea that the ferry will operate year round and not shut down during the winter. The Spirit of Ontario

Can you believe this?  The-Built-It-And-They-Will-Come mentality is so entrenched, it's become the de facto basic assumption which has gone totally unchallenged.

Just throw tons of money at the problem and it will go away.  Just get the Ferry moving again and all will be well.  Just have a slew of investors, juggle the management and year-round success will be realized.

I can't believe the blinders these people are wearing... they have absolutely no grasp of why the ferry bit the dust the FIRST time.

(here it comes again...)

"There aren't enough passengers to keep the Ferry profitable over the long term".

THAT'S the crux of the situation.  THAT'S the issue which is being completely ignored.  Yet with all the 'dealing' that's going on, the most important factor in the Ferry's existence isn't even being discussed.

'Confidentiality' is all well and good, but keeping the very people who'll make or break the 'deal' totally out of the loop is a recipe for a thunderous silence when the reservation phones are reactivated.

Perhaps CATS has some Super Secret Sure Fire Plan like some massively discounted fare or free shuttle service from the Toronto terminal to Union Station.  Regardless of the enticements, perks or free drinks, everything points back to the same immutable fact (all together, now...)

"There aren't enough passengers to keep the Ferry profitable over the long term".

Why is this so impossible to accept?  What is it about admitting there was a major flaw in reasoning that CATS and community leaders can't seem to bring themselves to do?  Mistakes were made (obviously) so it's not as if these 'leaders' are infallible.  Just own up and say, 'We were wrong'.

Now there's about to be another humiliating self-inflicted blow.  Toronto's building a terminal?  Swell; what makes CATS and Mayor Bill Johnson convinced it can only be used for a Fast Ferry to and from Rochester?  How do they know what goes on behind the closed conference room doors at Toronto City Hall?  Based on previous projects in Toronto, I have no doubt City Hall has other motives in mind... contingencies "IF" the Rochester Ferry goes belly up (which I believe they've already taken as fact).

Toronto didn't grow into one of the world's most livable cities by making idiotic gaffs and off-the-cuff assumptions; those distinctions appear to be rife in the Rochester and Monroe County development plans.

If private investors wish to write cheques to CATS, all the better for them.  They need a serious reality check in the form of a widespread collective turning of the consumer backs to the ferry project.  Consumer indifference is tough on any business which relies on the public as its primary source of income and that's one detail which cannot be ignored... or ignored at the peril of the business and its investors.

They'll learn that lesson sooner or later.  And it's beginning to appear CATS and community leaders need a little more time to find that out.

The neighbours to the east in Syracuse, pragmatic and sensible Central New Yorkers, offered an opinion on the ferry woes:

My Goodness.  Can you imagine hearing that CATS founder and CEO Dominick DeLucia and his wife contributed $18,500 to the campaigns of politicians who sponsored and supported his Pet Project??  Quel suprise, n'est-ce pas?!!

That tidbit wasn't exactly frontpage headlines in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.... I  * w o n d e r *  why not???

Could it be that it sounds too much like a classic case of 'you scratch my back and I'll dump a chunk of change in your war chest'?  And the public tends to get really PO'd when they read of that... and might withhold the desperately needed support for the service??

Bookmark my words; before this sorry saga's last chapter is written, there's going to be some pretty rank stench uncovered and it'll extend far beyond the Monroe County line.  'Confidentiality', my foot... there's a whole lotta frenzied pleading going on to come up with the cash to restart the service and no, I'll not concede these folks are more knowledgeable than I on this this issue.  The 'Dumbing Down of America' is not an acceptable practice for this Native Canadian.

Submitted as evidence?  (you know the tune..) "There aren't enough passengers to keep the Ferry profitable over the long term".  That diagnosis is based purely on a personal experience and knowledge of decades of 'living' within Southern Ontario society, including and in particular, the Greater Toronto Area.  That's expertise which can't be duplicated in a year or two of 'case studies' which only demonstrate the results the proponents of the project are demanding.

Plus - as has been suggested previously - if you want to know what a Canadian thinks, ask a Canadian.  After all, it's the Canadian market which the Rochester ferry supporters are seeking; the Canadian side of the equation really doesn't stand to gain... or lose... all that much if the service goes bust.

Bluntly (as if the Gentle Reader would expect anything less), Rochester needs the ferry far more than Toronto does.  That too, is an immutable fact even though CATS and the Rochester contingent have spared no expense lobbying to the Toronto interests on how Toronto would ostensibly reap great rewards.  The lackluster support for the project from the beginning by Toronto should be a plainly visible sign of Hogtown's indifference.  CATS  and Rochester's response??  "We don't hear that"  <<plugs ears with fingers>>.

"Well... OK!!   Believe whatever you damn well want, CATS and Rochester.   We don't give a flying fig whether you want to admit the truth or not; it's YOUR dime guys.  Just don't be blaming US for your failure to accept the reality of the situation.... which is...."

"There aren't enough passengers to keep the Ferry profitable over the long term".

"Now, do we have to hurt your feelings by asking who in HELL from Toronto would want a fast ferry to your Plain Jane of a burg - or are you willing to just accept that there aren't enough passengers from the northern terminus to support the long-term viability of such a service?"

"We're trying to be polite here.  After all, we ARE Canadian." 

TOPICS
		About Chuck  |  Senate Floor  |  Press Room  |  Services for New Yorkers  |  Kids' Page  |  Contact  |  Home     Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2003 SCHUMER: CANADIAN GOVERNMENT WILL PONY UP $8 MILLION FOR ROCHESTER FAST FERRY Lack of terminal on Canadian side threatened to derail or delay the fast ferry project; Schumer lobbied Canadian government to hold up its end of the bargain Schumer: Now we must address adequately staffing Customs at the Rochester ferry terminal US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced he has learned that the Toronto Port Authority will kick in $8 million for the Rochester Fast Ferry project. Schumer, who had repeatedly urged the Canadian Government to assist in the development of the fast ferry service between Rochester and Toronto, saluted the decision and said that this is a major step towards getting the project done. “Canada and the United States have been close allies and neighbors for years and years,” Schumer said. “And there’s no better way to keep that friendship going strong than to work together to boost tourism for both of us. The fast ferry will help both Rochester and Canada thrive, and this announcement means that the project is no longer just a dream." The lack of a terminal on the Canadian side threatened to derail or delay the fast ferry project. As a result, Schumer lobbied Canadian officials, pushing for funding of ferry terminal construction. Today, Schumer learned that the Toronto Port Authority voted to allocate $8 million in Canadian funds for the purpose of constructing a terminal for the Rochester - Toronto ferry that will be operated by Canadian American Transportation Systems (CATS). Construction is expected to begin in early January. "This news means that the project can now move forward, plain and simple," Schumer said. "We needed the Canadians to hold up their end of the bargain, and today that's just what they've done. This is great news, and now we need to make sure there is adequate Customs staffing at the Rochester ferry terminal." City officials have expressed concerns that there will not be enough Customs staffers stationed at the terminal when the ferry begins operating on Lake Ontario, which could lead to delays for passengers. Schumer pushed Customs to beef up its patrols and was assured by Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner that the Bureau is "committed to staffing this facility properly so as to minimize the amount of time required to process an incoming ferry." "The bottom line here is simple," Schumer said. "If we have a so-called fast ferry that involves delays of over an hour, then the whole point is lost and the project may as well be called a slow ferry. We need to keep pushing to make sure Customs truly understands the urgency and seriousness of our situation." The Toronto Port Authority is a federal public authority providing transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses. ###

Break out the Wellies; it's getting deep in here. 

Senator Schumer's Grand Pronouncement of December 2003 should have raised enough concerns to warrant a second look at the Ferry project:

"Schumer, who had *repeatedly* urged the Canadian Government to assist in the development of the fast ferry service between Rochester and Toronto..."  

"The lack of a terminal on the Canadian side threatened to derail or delay the fast ferry project." 

"If we have a so-called fast ferry that involves delays of over an hour, then the whole point is lost and the project may as well be called a slow ferry."

Call me a cynic, but it sure looks to me like even some two years after the whole idea was first pitched, the Canadian response was lackluster at best.  By that time, boatloads of contracts had been signed and boatloads of money had already been spent.  Backing out was no longer an option.

And at that juncture, neither was saving face.  Trying to gracefully exit the debacle had LONG passed even before 2003 rolled around.  At this point, prolonging the inevitable becomes a rather pathetic attempt to revive a dead horse and if I were the only one to be saying that, it might be shrugged off as just some personal vendetta.  Judging from the websites out there (check this one out), it's not simply a solitary Native Canadian who's somewhat jaded.  One member of a local website even specifically named this Fast Ferry section as one of their favourite websites.

dangler rgn.promoter rgn.clubber Karma: 7  Offline Gender: Posts: 386 ~dD       Re: What other websites are on yer favorites list? « Reply #17 on: October 16, 2004, 11:40:33 pm »   http://www.whatreallyhappened.com http://www.nativecanadian.ca/Native_Reflections/Fast%20Ferry/fast_ferry200.htm this one's for you dangler...     Report to moderator    Logged

Can't thank you Loyal Readers enough for your comments and compliments... this might be a good segue into why I'm doing a Mach 2.5 rant about a single issue.

To the lurkers and fellow malcontents, don't be shy.  Send an email (kanowakeron@canada.com) and let me know your feelings.  Looking back at the literal tens of thousands of words contained in this section, there's a lot of emotion-stirring comments which hopefully have jumpstarted some thought on the subject.

Having done that, all this invective will not have been wasted.  Think, just think.

27 OCTOBER 2004

"Ok wise guy; if the Ferry service was so ignored by the Canadian market, then how come there were more passengers coming from Toronto to Rochester than Rochester to Toronto??  Hmmm??"

Ahhh... the infamous, endemic Rochester  'We-Can't-Handle-Relativity'  Syndrome.  That's as frequent around here as the dreaded and highly infectious Provincialism Complex.  Once again, let's take a look at Rochester's place among the Bigger Picture, shall we?

There's a community in Downstate New York called 'New York City'....  you may have heard of it.  Rochester has always had a problem understanding why 'they' always get the attention, why 'they' always get mountains of State funds and why 'they' always seem to get their own way.

I believe that falls under the concept called 'democracy' where (theoretically , anyway) one person gets one vote and no vote carries anymore weight than any other.  The third-shift's janitor's vote is just as important as the the President of the United States... the two are indistinguishable.

Thus, with half of the NYS population living in Downstate it stands to reason that's a real powerhouse which affects the rest of the State.  'They' are concentrated in a relatively small portion of the entire State and 'their' sentiments and politics tend to sway the entire State.  Why shouldn't it?  One Person, One Vote.  It's simple.

'They' also pay a mountain of taxes which find their way into the State coffers and a case could be made that 'they' deserve to keep more of the funds 'they' pay into the system.  What does NYC care about some Upstate backwater burg's harebrained scheme to start up some fast boat across the Lake?  Why should 'they' have to pay for said community's business blunder through 'their' taxes?  It doesn't benefit 'their' community, now does it?

(next level)

Concentration of population.  Rochester has a real problem understanding that as it looks at itself and pronounces, "Hey, we're Big Kids too" then proceeds to assume it's own prominence is equally as... how shall we say... influential... as Canada's largest city which has an official 2001 metropolitan population of 5,033,541 (link).

By contrast, the six-county Rochester MSA (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans and Wayne Counties) had a 2000 population of 1,098,201 (link).

For the purposes of example only, let's say 1% of the Rochester market is interested in using the ferry service and in the Toronto market - due to indifference - that figure drops to 0.5% of the total population.  Students, please double-click on Calculator:

Thus we see: even though there's HALF the interest in the Toronto area to use the ferry, there are more than TWICE as many passengers actually using the service.  Inversely, even though there's TWICE the interest in the Rochester area to use the ferry, there's less than HALF the actual passengers who use the service when compared to the Toronto -> Rochester leg.

Conclusion?  Well, of COURSE it's a fact more passengers will be sailing from the north to the south... even though the popularity may not be as pervasive as on the Rochester side.  Toronto is a metropolitan area over four times the population of the entire six-county Rochester area.  By itself, does the fact there's a greater number of passengers heading south indicate relative popularity?

In a word: no.  From our calculator exercise, we've seen that relative population size has more to do with the actual number of passengers than number of passengers purportedly indicates popularity.  The 'Numbers-of-Passengers-Indicates-Popularity' Theory doesn't hold up and is pretty irrelevant anyway.

Which brings us back to the main crux of the issue.  Students???

"There aren't enough passengers to keep the Ferry profitable over the long term".

Aunt Fanny's friends from Mississauga may have indeed sailed back home with gushing reports of the swell time they had in Rochester and what a fine craft The Breeze was.  That's nice.  Glad they enjoyed themselves.  Just what the hell does any of that have to do with keeping a business afloat?  Unless everybody living the length of Dixie Road took the same trip, how are a few hundred dowagers supposed to keep CATS surviving?  They can't. 

Despite the Rochester penchant to ignore the obvious power of population, it's a minor league trying to compete in the majors.  And it can't.

Nevertheless, that doesn't keep local ferry supporters from insisting Rochester has such drawing potential that residents of one of the largest metropolitan areas in North America will undoubtedly take some expensive shuttle to see the sights of the Flower City.  That should have been disproved beyond any reasonable doubt by the suspension of the service... otherwise, why was it halted?  I mean, if the overwhelming popularity was there, who in their right mind would stop a good thing?

Tossing out excuses may placate the lenders and leaders but those in the know could see the venture was highly speculative from Day One.  But desperate times often breed desperate measures.... and Lord Knows these are desperate times for the Rochester area.

As we wait breathlessly for the news of the restart date, it bears noting the Canadian dollar is at its highest value since 1993; the exchange rate for the American dollar is no longer as generous as it was even a year ago.  And I KNOW Rochesterians realize that means more Canadians will be able to afford to drop on in for a visit or two (Ooo-Oooo!!!)

That may appear to bode well for the ferry - provided there was sufficient incentive to get the passengers to make the trip across the lake... and is there?  That's highly debatable.

From the folks down the 401 at The Detroit Free Press:

Not much more that can be added to that upbeat assessment from Detroit, is there?