Jacob Bryson from Champion's Auto Ferry attended the November 13, 2021 HISCFA meeting held at the Harsen's Island Lions Hall.
Below are the notes that appear in the HISCFA Meeting Minutes for November's meeting.
As most people know, Champion's Auto Ferry recently put in for a rate increase. The ferry rate increase was granted November 12, 2021. The full fare price is going from $12 to $15 (cash rate). The discount commuter price is going up $1, from $9 to $10 per ticket, increasing the book rate from $180 to $200. Single wheel, single axle trailers will also increase by $1 (can still use a ticket for this). Motorcycles are going up $1: from $6 to $7. Motorhomes (e.g. self-driven RVs) will now be charged as a commercial truck, and commercial truck rates will stay the same ($30/axle). No change for walking the ferry (pedestrians remain free).
This pricing structure is an attempt to minimize the impact to the year-round residents. All of the extra revenue is going towards fighting the inflation that everyone is being hit with right now, and wage increases (to become competitive again) to retain personnel they currently have and getting more people in the spring.
The rate increase is effective January 1, 2022. New tickets will not be sold until January 1, 2022. Current yellow tickets are valid through the end of this year (December 31, 2021). Beginning January 2022 and throughout 2022, you can use the yellow ticket with an additional dollar (when applicable). However, yellow tickets will no longer be accepted beginning January 1, 2023 (bottom left corner of ticket reads "Ticket Value Forfeit after Dec. 2022"). If you have remaining yellow tickets in 2022 and you do not wish to provide $1 with yellow tickets on the ferry deck when crossing, you can come into the ferry office and exchange your yellow tickets plus $1 (per ticket) in exchange for the new tickets.
Jacob Bryson reported that Champion's Auto Ferry has a captain who recently came off of an extended medical leave, so the ferry will be able to extend the hours of the second boat beginning Monday, November 15, 2021. This will accommodate two boats from 6am to approximately 6pm or 7pm. Progress on the ferry docks/ramps has been slow since Jacob has been busy driving the boat as much as necessary to help accommodate the traffic. However, now that an additional captain is returning to work, Jacob can return to the shop to continue progress for the dock/ramp construction. Work in the shop has been taking place to pre-fabricate as much as possible. Additionally, the new docks are going to be several feet longer which will ease the angle of the ramp to lessen scrapes/bottoming-out from low-clearance vehicles. Work is estimated to be completed in the spring, but it is both weather-dependent and of course progress-dependent. At the moment, there is neither a short-term nor long-term plan to re-route incoming traffic in the lineup/approach the mainland ferry.