Electric ferry charging facility to be built down-Sound

||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Federal grants for electrification efforts, improvements

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration recently awarded us with three grants. Together, they total $11.6 million in funding, which includes:

• $4.9 million to build an electric ferry charging facility at Clinton terminal to help with our system electrification
• $5 million to improve transit connections and meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards facilities at Southworth terminal.
• $1.7 million to upgrade our electronic fare payment system with modern software equipment, expediting the payment and boarding process, as well as improving security for riders.

One of the three federal grants will go to improvements at Southworth terminal, including ADA-accessible facility upgrades.

The FTA announced 23 grants to ferry systems across the country last week. The funding was made available through three competitive grant programs that boost ferry service in rural areas, modernize urban ferry systems, and lower emissions by speeding adoption of zero-emission technology.

Service restoration update

We are one month into our Edmonds/Kingston route trial of pre-pandemic two-boat service levels. Unfortunately, we have not reached 95% reliability on the run over a three-week period, our threshold for full restoration as outlined in our Service Restoration Plan (PDF 794KB). This was because we unexpectedly lost one of the route’s two vessels in mid-January when a propeller on Puyallup was bent after it hit something underwater, likely a log. Repairs should be complete soon.

“RAVE to the extraordinarily kind and respectful employees of Washington State Ferries on the Mukilteo-Clinton run recently. Their consideration and cooperation during an onboard memorial service and their empathy for a grieving family was much appreciated!”

-Mukilteo/Clinton customer in The Seattle Times