Community Water Taxi releases interIsland survey results

||| FROM ED ANDREWS for COMMUNITY WATER TAXI |||

In mid-February of 2024, the Community Water Taxi (CWT) released a survey meant to capture the community impacts of unreliable Washington State Ferries (WSF) interisland service on San Juan County (SJC) residents and offer a more complete picture of the current crisis in SJC and islanders’ specific interisland ferry service needs.

Here is the 56-page report on the survey results.

There were 28 questions. Some were conditional (questions that allow you to skip certain questions, based on previous responses), so you may not have needed to answer them all. All questions, with the exception of Yes/No questions, were optional to answer including name and email.

The questions covered demographics, impacts to medical access, business/employment and personal travel, and a few summary questions.

There were 695 responses, which is approximately 3.9% of SJC residents. The survey was issued in Spanish and English.

Some key takeaways are as follows:

• Travel for medical attention appears to have largely shifted from within the county to between the island and the mainland but there are critical services in Friday Harbor upon which residents of the other ferry-serviced islands rely (such as dialysis).
• Disruptions and delays are especially impactful for residents seeking medical access.
• Businesses, employers, and workers are severely and negatively impacted by ferry disruptions.
• Two-thirds of respondents reported a moderate to extreme loss of business, a percentage which increased as disruptions became more frequent.
• Residents no longer feel confident interisland ferry service can provide reliable transportation to other islands for what might be considered basic residential needs or for leisure.
• Disruptions result in delays to the necessary interface with the county government.

Overwhelmingly, respondents seek, and indicate they would use, an alternative to WSF provided by SJC. However, there is an abiding sentiment that a county-operated alternative is acquiescing to malfeasance by WSF. The Anacortes-San Juan Islands ferry routes are our state highway system and WSDOT and WSF must maintain and operate the system as such.

Contrary to WSF Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey’s remark last month that “A year ago we were in crisis. Now, we’re in recovery,” the ferry service in SJC has consistently failed to provide a sufficient level of service in the month since he made the statement. The interisland ferry faced service disruptions for 18days between June 22–July 16 — a 25 day period — forcing the service to shut down completely for two days.

The continued crisis is severely impacting vulnerable members of the community, such as the elderly, the sick, and our hard-working friends and neighbors who can afford it the least. Immediate action is required to address the ongoing issues with WSF interisland service and ensure that all members of the community have access to reliable and efficient transportation.

Thank you to everyone who participated.
—————————————-
CWT is a group of concerned island residents looking for solutions to an inter-island walk-on water taxi service within SJC when WSF can not perform this need. We have helped people since August of 2023 to get them to medical appointments, work, court appointments, school, and basic personal travel when there are WSF disruptions. For more  information / questions, contact them at communitywatertaxi@gmail.com.