Mr. Ian Dean

"We're not trying to completely recover our lost revenue," noted Ian Dean of the Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC), which operates the ferry on behalf of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM)."We're trying to cover some of our expenses but at the same time not scare away customers, who have the option of driving around."

Fares went up 10 percent for all passengers, although prices in the cafeteria and gift shop have remained static, said Mr. Dean.As well, the priority-passage booking fee of $20 and dinner cruise tickets, at $46.95 per person, have not changed.

The increase means that the cost for a standard-size car, not including driver or passengers, will now be $34.70 instead of $31.55.For a car carrying two people, the increase amounts to just over $6, noted Mr. Dean.

Like many businesses, the ferry service has struggled this year with the impact of higher fuel costs, which both deter people from travelling and add significantly the OSTC's diesel bill.But Mr. Dean stressed that the mid-season fare hike "is not a fuel surcharge;" had the company planned to offset its fuel expenses, the increase in fares "would have been much higher."
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Traffic aboard the Chi-Cheemaun has declined by 9 percent this summer, said Mr. Dean, and he doesn't expect passenger numbers to climb much, if at all, over the remainder of the season.
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This has resulted in a slightly longer crossing but had no impact on the departure times, in part because the decrease in vehicles has made for quicker turnaround times at the docks, noted Mr. Dean.

But even with the savings reaped through these adjustments, the ship is still taking a substantial hit, particularly since fares for this season were set before the spike in gas prices could be anticipated.

The OSTC board considered a number of scenarios before making a recommendation to the MNDM, which subsidizes the ferry service as well as has the final say in changes to its schedule or fare structure."We looked at different options, and at this stage of the season felt this was the most acceptable and practical," said Mr. Dean.
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Ferries in other parts of the country have introduced fuel surcharges to compensate for the increase to their operating costs, noted Mr. Dean."The larger ferries on either side of Canada have had at least one surcharge of about 15 percent," he pointed out.

The OSTC could go that route in the future, said Mr. Dean, but this will be a discussion to have later."We'll look long and hard at all the factors after this season is done," he said.

The Jiimaan should be repaired by Aug. 15, according to Ian Dean, manager of administration for Owen Sound Transportation Co., which manages Pelee Island Transportation Services on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Dean said the Canadian run is much busier than Sandusky and the company couldn't justify leaving the Pelee Islander in Sandusky full-time when it only serviced a few hundred people a week.

Dean said when the Jiimaan makes its daily runs from Canada to Pelee Island, it regularly fills its 400 seats.The Pelee Islander can seat 268, which is why it is usually stationed in Sandusky, he said.

The Pelee Islander is making evening runs in Canada on Friday and Sunday, Dean said.

"At this point we've heard nothing more than rumours," said Ian Dean of the OSTC.
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Mr. Dean said that Highway 6 south of Tobermory was blocked by protestors on one occasion in the 1980s."It meant that people had to detour around on a side road, and the ferry was delayed for 20 minutes," he said.

In this case, he isn't sure what to expect."We can't really prepare until we know what's happening," he said.

The Friday of the Canada Day long weekend is typically one of the busiest times for the Chi-Cheemaun, and despite the potential for an interruption in the schedule, "bookings are certainly on par with previous years," said Mr. Dean.

According to Ian Dean of the Owen Sound Transportation Company, the Chi-Cheemaun has seen a rise in traffic of 2 percent this sailing season.However, he added, the 2006 season was down about the same amount from previous years, putting the traffic at an average amount for 2007.

"We're not back to where we were in 2005, though," Mr. Dean noted, as 2005 was a particularly good year for the ferry.He said the Chi-Cheemaun's dinner cruise traffic has also proved popular this year, with patrons up 2 percent over 2006 too.

Contact: Ian Dean - Manager OperationsPhone: 519-326-2154 or 519-326-5818Fax: 519-326-3299

Ian Dean, marketing director for the Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC), said that numbers were generally down this year in comparison to statistics from 2005.

The vessel ferried 81,478 vehicles back and forth this summer, while 87,668 vehicles used the ferry service in 2005, a decrease of 7 percent.

Passenger traffic saw 216,073 take the ferry this summer, while 231,838 passengers used the ferry in 2005, a decrease of 6.8 percent.

In addition, "we missed out on four round-trip trips because of the weather this fall, compared to two last year," Mr. Dean noted.

In mid-August, the OSTC had to temporarily limit sailing times when one of the two main engines broke down.Sailings were reduced from four to three, and sailing times were increased by 30 minutes.This didn't directly affect the ferry statistics, however, since the breakdown occurred mid-week when traffic is slower anyway, Mr. Dean explained.

The marketing director added that passengers sailing on the sunset dinner cruises had increased slightly this year.

In general, the weather remained co-operative throughout the summer, and tourism trends tended to follow the ups and downs of the gasoline industry.

"We were okay in May and June, it slowed down in July and we bounced back in August," Mr. Dean said."It was a different year, to say the least."

Now the Chi-Cheemaun will undergo a thorough general inspection in Thunder Bay.It is part of a mandatory inspection by Transport Canada that the ferry is required to undergo every five years, Mr. Dean explained.

"We really do not anticipate any problem in two weeks time," stated Ian Dean, of the Owen Sound Transportation Commission.

We have been working hard with both the Tobermory Chamber of Commerce and Ian Dean of Owen Sound Transportation Company to strengthen our ties.We had several meetings on the Boat throughout the summer and fall.There was a meeting held to discuss the stats for the year and also discussion about the upcoming 30th anniversary for the Chi-cheemaun.We were asked to come up with any ideas for the celebration in 2004.If you have any ideas how to celebrate the upcoming year please let us know and we will pass this on to Ian Dean.

Contact: Ian Dean -Manager of Operations

Phone: 519-326-2154 or 1-800-661-2220

Fax: 519-326- 3299