Contractor defends ferry traffic stats

More people use the Rose Blanche-La Poile-Grand Bruit ferry than the statistics may initially indicate.

Art Puddister says the traffic numbers are a bit misleading on the surface.

Mr. Puddister is the managing director of Puddister Trading Co. Ltd., the company that holds the current contract from the provincial government to provide ferry service to La Poile.

Some in the community questioned the government's traffic statistics, which said an average of between two and four people used the service on each trip. Local residents said far more passengers use the service on a regular basis.

However, Mr. Puddister said the term 'trips' can be misleading. Each one-way journey between individual communities counts as a trip.

Average passenger counts are for the some 1,800 individual sailing legs preformed by the ferry each year. The vessel makes 1,800 trips in a year, or about six each day it sails, said Mr. Puddister.

That means that if no one is onboard the ferry when it leaves La Poile for Grand Bruit early one morning, it's counted as a trip with no passengers. Same on the return from Grand Bruit to La Poile, which is counted as another trip.

When it's looked at that way, the traffic statistics work out to about 10 to 12 passengers per day - numbers Mr. Puddister called 'reasonable.'

The numbers used by the provincial government are based on the fares paid by travellers on the vessel. There were concerns raised by local residents that those numbers were being underestimated becasue not everyone using the service was required to pay the fare.

Mr. Puddister previously said he did not believe that people were travelling without paying, however he now says that is the case in some circumstances.

He explained that after the issue was raised, he investigated the matter. He found out a provincial government form, called a daily marine traffic report, which stated a policy of free transportation for the immediate family of crewmembers.

The form was dated 2007 and has since been replaced by a new form that does not spell out the policy, but does include a section to record non-paying passengers.

Mr. Puddister said he can't say for certain if non-paying passengers were always recorded in the past, but he has issued a directive to employees to ensure they are from now on.

He said he doesn't believe that traffic statistics would be significantly affected either way.

A spokesperson for the provin-cial transportation department said the policy of free travel for family members of crew does not apply to contracted services.

The policy is part of a collective agreement and applies only to provincially run services such as the Gallipoli serving between Burgeo-Ramea-Grey River.

He said the department will be following up with the contractor to clarify the policy.

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