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Final Thoughts on the Fast Ferry
Jan. 10th, 2006 07:43 pmFirst, some background: Mayor Duffy has decided not to keep the fast ferry operating.
I was hopeful about the fast ferry. I remember coming home along the thruway from a Changeling came in Toronto and thinking how nice it would be to have a fast ferry. This was when the project was still in its formative stages, before anyone know what kind of pricing the ferry would have. I thought it would let me make frequent, economical trips between Toronto to attend these games more often. It was going to be fun.
Man, was I wrong.
The fast ferry that actually was, was a mess. A giant money pit, from the day the fast ferry hit a harbor in New York city, to the lack of harbor development in Toronto, through the $1 lease, and through city control of the project.
I can't think of a single projection at this point that came true, a single premise of the ferry that ended up reality. It was supposed to get tons of truck traffic. Nope. It was supposed to get tons of tourist traffic from Toronto. Nope. It was supposed to turn a profit. Nope. Instead, it bankrupted one company and drove an authority into massive debt.
So its done. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be mad at Duffy for what he's decided. Not me. I'm glad its gone, to be honest. I was not looking forward to watching it run for years longer, dragging Rochester into more and more debt that it couldn't afford.
Now that its done, though, I also want to know what happened. From the outside, looking in, it looks like there were massive issues with this project - what caused it to fail. Why was the management company awarded a $1 lease in the first place? Why was ever estimate, every business plan massive incorrect?
If you want me to trust Rochester with another large project again, answer those questions.
I was hopeful about the fast ferry. I remember coming home along the thruway from a Changeling came in Toronto and thinking how nice it would be to have a fast ferry. This was when the project was still in its formative stages, before anyone know what kind of pricing the ferry would have. I thought it would let me make frequent, economical trips between Toronto to attend these games more often. It was going to be fun.
Man, was I wrong.
The fast ferry that actually was, was a mess. A giant money pit, from the day the fast ferry hit a harbor in New York city, to the lack of harbor development in Toronto, through the $1 lease, and through city control of the project.
I can't think of a single projection at this point that came true, a single premise of the ferry that ended up reality. It was supposed to get tons of truck traffic. Nope. It was supposed to get tons of tourist traffic from Toronto. Nope. It was supposed to turn a profit. Nope. Instead, it bankrupted one company and drove an authority into massive debt.
So its done. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be mad at Duffy for what he's decided. Not me. I'm glad its gone, to be honest. I was not looking forward to watching it run for years longer, dragging Rochester into more and more debt that it couldn't afford.
Now that its done, though, I also want to know what happened. From the outside, looking in, it looks like there were massive issues with this project - what caused it to fail. Why was the management company awarded a $1 lease in the first place? Why was ever estimate, every business plan massive incorrect?
If you want me to trust Rochester with another large project again, answer those questions.
