— from Washington State Ferries —
[Ed. Note: See earlier stories on recent ferry delays]
Because of a generator failure on the M/V Yakima, the Anacortes/San Juan Islands/Sidney, BC route is operating on a four-boat emergency schedule until another vessel can join the route and restore it to a full five-boat capacity. See the alternative schedule online at https://bit.ly/
Sailing times have been adjusted to prioritize domestic travel in the San Juan Islands, canceling the morning international sailings to and from Sidney, British Columbia. For domestic travelers, customers with existing reservations will get priority on a first-come, first-served basis each day. Reservation holders who choose not to travel will not be charged a no-show fee and don’t need to cancel their reservation.
For those international travelers booked on the morning sailing to Sidney, your reservations will be honored on the afternoon sailing at 2:50 pm. As an alternative, your reservation will also be honored on BC Ferries, which has early morning sailings available from the Vancouver area to Sidney (Swartz Bay) or Nanaimo. Visit www.bcferries.com or call 1-888-BC-FERRY to let them know that your reservation has been affected by the Washington State Ferries vessel breakdown.
WSF reservations from Anacortes to Sidney can be canceled at any time without incurring a no-show fee by visiting www.takeaferry.com or by calling 1-888-808-7977.
WSF is not accepting new vehicle reservations at this time, though there is a limited amount of vehicle stand-by space on every sailing. Please plan to arrive at the terminal early and consider walking on to the ferry.
We apologize for the inconvenience this causes and thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to restore full service on this route.
I’ve never been brave enough to protest bad stuff in a radical way, but when I imagine 30-40 cars suddenly parking and blocking the Orcas Ferry Landing that would get the attention of KIRO News and local folks like Ranker and I bet you this problem would be fixed right quick.
Of all times to make my semi-annual jaunt to the mainland! Car will be fixed this afternoon, thought I’d get a reservation on any boat available, but No Reservations can be made?!? Anyone have a res you don’t need?
A comment about the comments:
This situation CAN’T be fixed quickly…they have no more boats to bring on. It started years ago when WSF was denied funds from the gas tax:
“2010 Ferries Budget Detail
Washington State Ferries has an operating funding gap of approximately $30 million annually. Historically, this revenue has been made up through special transfers from the WSDOT gas tax fund, but gas tax revenues are now fully utilized for debt service on DOT highway projects.
Operating Revenue (Fares, concessions, advertising) $150,505,000
Total Expenses ($208,584,000)
Net Operating Loss ($58,079,000)
Dedicated State Funding – Licenses & Fees $15,000,000
Dedicated State Funding – Other $15,000,000
Operating Funding Gap ($28,079,000)”
WSF is coping as best they can, with only 4 boats to serve us instead of 5. No substitutes to bring on, due to aging fleet, and limited money to build new.
Rick, how can we help solve this problem??
p.s.Susan: reservations will not guarantee a space for the rest of the month, whether you have one or not.
So it’s back to the pre-reservation anxieties of: “Will I get in line in time to get on the ferry…wonder how many cars are already there?”, or: “If I miss this one, I’ll not be able to pick up my Mega-bucks’ check!” or: “So what if I get only 5 hours sleep in order to get to the ferry 2 hours ahead. I’ll sleep on the ferry…oh, oh, it’s the Sunday of a 3 day weekend…I forgot the whole world is leaving the Island!!”
Where is the Evergreen State when we need her?
I traveled on the ferries today. Oh, boy !!! A major mess. An Anacortes employee said that there are FOUR boats out of service !! Must be summer, or Christmas. Bring back the Evergreen State, the Nisqually AND the Hiyu !!!!!!
So much for the legislature’s original commitment to treat the ferry system as a part of the state’s highway system.
Nope. Ferry riders are rich folks who live on exclusive islands. If they want ferry service, they should pay extra for it. Lots extra.
And look at how much money Tim Eyman helped save for all of us, by reducing license-tab taxes!
It’s that money which should have been used all along, to pay for both maintenance of and improvements to the ferry system. But Tim’s initiative killed that.
Oh…and you had a hand in it too: You voted in favor of Tim’s “money saving” ballot initiative.
So when you think of complaining about the ferries, and service interruptions, and the price of a ferry passage, just remember what Tim Eyman — and you — helped to accomplish.
Nice work, guys!
Right on Steve and for the folks that did not want a reservation system. Well this is a reality check.
Unless it is an emergency, buying local is the way to go !
It is unfortunate that we only four ferries in operation at this time however lets accommodate one another here. First let be grateful for the crews on the remaining boats and the job that they are doing.2. Lets be glad the boats we have are fairly safe and reliable for the most part. 3. Perhaps this is the time to check with others and carpool or figure creative solutions to help each other at this time. 4 last but not least let’s cut each other a little slack whether we are a local or are visiting in the end we do have a choice in this situation
Maybe it’s time to get rid of the legislation that won’t allow us to borrow, or hire, a ferry from Canada. They have offered but this archaic union pushed act won’t allow it. Just a thought….