— a Change.org Petition by Ashley Buchanan —
The San Juan Islands is our home! Not just some tourist destination. We should not have to reserve our place in line to travel to and from our islands! We pay taxes, and highway 20 is our interstate. This is not the answer to the problem of long waits in line, and having a full ferry lot. This issue was not brought to our attention until the “solution” was already set in stone.
A majority of the islanders seem to not agree with this 2-2-2 reservation solution for many reasons. 95% of the ferry being reservation only seems to be too much. Only leaving 5% open for spur of the moment goers, is not enough. There is a number of senarios that could take place at any time, for an islander to want to leave quickly. And this system would make that impossible during the busy season. Reasons such as; last minute medical appointment, pick up kids, friend having a baby, grocery shopping, or maybe just a last minute get away. We should not need to plan our lives ahead of time. Lets say we do make a reservation. We would have to stick to that plan. No more delaying our trip home a day or two, or saying, ”we’ll just catch the next ferry.” If we decide not to travel we have to pay a penalty fee? That is not fair. Also there is still people on the islands that are ‘cash only.’ Are we really going to make them get a debit or credit card to leave their home? That is also not fair.
There has got to be a different way, because I do not believe this new system is it. There is too many questions to be answered and flaws that need to be discussed, before this new plan is in any way going to be acceptable to the ones who live on the San Juan Islands.
(Editor’s Note: To sign this petition, visit Change.org.)
Ashley: Please contact me mshaworcas@yahoo.com. I’m also in the phone book. I would like to clear up what seems to be quite a few misconceptions re the upcoming reservation system.
I don’t feel you are presenting a knowledgeable argument. Let’s fix that….
Not advocating either way here, but I believe the actual set aside for non reservation spaces is 10% (or 10-13 cars per boat).
A few questions regarding the reservation system:
Is there a limit on the number of reservations that I can hold at any given time?
Is my reservation transferable?
Can I have more than one reservation for a specific sailing time?
Will school groups (teams specifically) be given some kind of leeway in how their reservation will be handled. Or if they miss their alloted time slot due to a last minute cancelation will the ferry system take money from our school system?
I’m curious, how you know that “A majority of the islanders seem to not agree” with the reservation system. Last time I checked the population of San Juan County was 15,000 people. I highly doubt you have talked to a majority of them.
I have been dealing with the ferry system on Orcas Island for 21 years, and I feel a reservation system is long overdue, especially for those who live on Orcas who consistently deal with very long wait times during peak travel time.
Also, in regards to your point about paying taxes: In 1999 Tim Eyman’s initiative to have $30 flat fee car tabs crippled the funding for our ferry system. We are not paying the taxes needed for our state transportation system (including the ferries).
I’m curious to see how we all feel once its been implemented for a year but do not like the fact that if I am unable to make my reservation due to circumstances out of my control (traffic, flat tire, long running meeting, etc…) that I will be charged a percentage of my ticket & still have to pay full fare for the next boat (which may be already full). My ferry ticket is $211.00 for a 32 foot long truck returning, that stings!
The facts remain to be seen, as usual. I for one, wish to come and go as I please. Plans, individual schedules, and needs, often change. Circumstances shift, a large percentage of the time. There are many reasons to have a limited Reservation plan, perhaps 15%. There are many more reasons to keep individual freedom and flexibility, even if it means waiting in line from time to time. Imagine someone having a medical appt. off island, but the Dr.’s schedule does not run on Ferry time. No returning home, or going “off island” for that matter, if needed. Real life time and rhythms over ride the proposed “Reservation” system. Let’s not miss the boat that honors individual needs, day to day.
There is no reason to quibble with Ashley who brought this to our attention. What we need is accurate information. Could someone please supply it for those of us who wonder how The New Plan is going to affect our daily lives.
I agree with Susan. Most of the trips I take off island are spontaneous. If I really need to catch a boat, I get there early. Being locked into a schedule for returning would be a pain too. But I guess this is coming no matter what. I’m sure the roll out will be a real mess for a few months.
As for placing the blame for our under funded transportation system on $30 tabs- Olympia just responded by increasing other revenue sources. For instance the state gas tax was $.23 a gallon in 1999, it’s 37.5 cents a gallon now- a 63% increase in funding for highways, which we are all paying (unless one drives an electric car).
I also have serious >ahem< reservations about the proposed system. While I usually — but NOT always — am able to decide ahead of time what ferry I will catch to leave the island, coming home is another matter. One seldom knows how exactly how long errands or appointments will take. When we take a road trip and the weather turns bad & we want to come home, we can do it. I do not want to see all of the spots on the ferry (or the next several ferries!)full of tourists and off-islanders who have been able to make reservations well ahead of time. If perhaps half of the spots were left for those who show up and wait in line, this system would work much better for locals. As it is, I think it will serve the needs of tourists better than those of islander residents.
I believe that there is some value in having a reservation system in place, but as I think through various scenarios, I see several points where worry could be in order.
Here’s one that is a real life example that worries me for future planning:
It’s a weekend in July and our family has decided to head off island to visit family to go camping. We planned on leaving Thursday night, but due to a long work day, had to delay until Friday morning (first problem- one reservation missed and a fee billed). Now, we have headed to the south sound to stay for the weekend, with a reservation to come home on the Monday morning ferry. Because our kids despise planning, 2 of the four have decided Saturday night to develop stomach flu. (Keep in mind… This is a real life example)
Because of the natural consequences of stomach flu, we have double bagged the carnage as well as the kids and decided to head for the ferry on Sunday. A quick check of the reservation system yields that there are no available spots on any boat after the red-eye, but we need to get home, because it is only a matter of time before the virus follows the predictable epidemiological pattern which ultimately ends up with 6 members of a family simultainiously seeking a bathroom-like refuge point.
I will spare you the play-by-play, but suffice it to say victim #3 begins the double bagging protocol somewhere near Marysville at about 8:00 am.
Upon arriving at the Ferry landing at 9:15, we are informed that we are car number 48 without a reservation. The 10:30 boat takes 12 cars that were unreserved. The 12:40 boat picks up another 14 because 2 people missed their reservation. Next boat is 3:50. From 9:15- 3:50 we are in full Haz-mat mode in Lane 7, running a med-evac unit to and from the restroom full time. 3:50 yields 15 extra cars taken, leaving us in 7th place in the waiting game. Throughout this period of time the cars continue to stack up behind us and the temperature continues to rise. The only thing worse than 3 people with stomach flu is 3 people, in a car, in a crowded parking lot, in 85 degree weather, all day – with stomach flu.
Finally, the arrival of the late running 6:15 boat at 7:05 brings us the hope of loading, except that it is going to Shaw and Lopez, and because of the orcas quota, only 6 orcas cars can make it on. Fortunately for our Friends on Shaw and Lopez they will be spared further exposure to our mobile disease lab. Even better that they didn’t have to sit with us in line for 10 hours either, because they didn’t require reservations. Most of them were in line for about an hour prior to loading.
And so, the story wraps up with the arrival of the late running 8:50 boat, which we are able to finally load on to, which is coincidentally the same time that victim #4 succumbs to the flu- making for an even more enjoyable voyage across the sea.
Of course, the intertwining of the reservation scenario in this story is fictional, but the rest is largely based on fact. The biggest difference being that in the factual story the flu-wagon arrived on Orcas on the 12:40 boat – or about 8 hours and a whole lot of cleaning up sooner.
Am I worried about how this will work? Yes, very much so.
Rumor: Rosario will buy blocks of reservations for their guests.
We make reservations for flights, car rental, hotels, etc Other ferry system have a reservation system and it is working fine. So maybe we should be asking that 15-20% of the space should be for standby purpose instead of 10%. So when we cannot make reservation ahead of time then we can go on standby like we do now. I am excited about being able to plan a trip to the mainland and knowing that I will get on the ferry without waiting in line for hours.
Pierrette,
My assumption is that the system is being rolled out in the winter so that these issues can be worked on before the Summer rush. I tend to agree with you that less space should be allocated to reservations. My guess would be that 50% would be a more appropriate number… but I guess we shall see.
Dear Margot, would you please share your knowledge with us?
There is a public meeting on Orcas, Saturday, November 1 at which all of those folks needing more information and answers can unleash a blizzard of questions about the reservation system. Check on the time and location as it may be changing.
As a long-term member of the County Ferry Advisory Committee, I can attest that this issue is very complex and has numerous plusses and minuses to its inception. Interestingly, I had occasion this past week to speak to the senior agent in Anacortes about the practical implementation of the system and I can share that there are many aspects of this proposal that are not resolved. A good example is the dominoes crashing when a ferry is out of service, or when fog delays a sailing. Oops !! Now what!
We have all waited in line for many hours, especially when coming home, and a reserved spot would be most welcome. However, we have all had to rush to the mainland unexpectedly so a ferry will no available space would be a major problem and inconvenience. Plusses and minuses !!!
Come to the meeting and ask thoughtful, meaningful questions.
Here’s a question to ask, at the November First meeting (and, Ed, maybe you’d like to think about this idea):
Why must all of a day’s ferry trips be subject to the reservation system?
Why couldn’t reservations be needed for only certain trips, while other specific trips would be exclusively for the old first-come-first-served, drive-up lottery?
I would say that I’ll be at the meeting to ask my question, but since life is as uncertain as is needing to take the ferry, maybe someone else will have to be my substitute.
I agree, that Domino effect scares me the most! I wonder if a solution would be M,W,F are days for reservations and T, Th are left at our ‘old way of doing things’…or as Steve Says 2-3 boats per day have the new system and 2-3 boats depending on the season are ‘non-reserv.” This will be very “interesting”!!! Go to that meeting!!!
The folks who will be informing us and answering our questions at the meeting are paid to sell us on the reservation system. They do not work at the terminals nor know how things are staged at the terminals. Nor do they live in the San Juans, or run businesses here, or understand anything about life out here. The “meetings” they have had with us who work at the Orcas terminal have been in my opinion a joke. Basically, they tell us how we will do it, in that “nice, thoughtful” way that sounds so reasonable. Recently, someone who has worked at Anacortes for several decades in the ticket booth, and goes above and beyond in terms of customer service, tried to explain to Dwight Hutchinson, who is Reservations Manager (forgive me if I dont have the exact right title), his concerns about trying to handle ferry traffic that does not have to get to the landing until a half hour before sailing, with all the added steps the reservation system throws in. Dwight told him “well, you sellers will just have to speed it up, then, wont you?” Wow, you can imagine what will happen with ‘customer service,” and who will be blamed for any problems with the reservation system?– yes, the folks on the ground.Staging at the ferry terminals is incredibly complex, and it would take pages to explain all the details. There is a kind of fluidity now which will be gone with the reservation system. Of course, we’ll start the system in the slow season (when we dont need it anyway) and there is no way, by summer, WSF will back out of it. I’d like to know how much money WSF is paying for this?– staffing will have to go up quite a bit to handle it. It sounds good on paper, yes. But talk to the local truckers/business owners who have suffered since the spring schedule under the new reservation system for overheights/overlengths (what used to be our “priority” system, which worked.) The red-eye was always completely booked for anything overweight/overlength. Sometimes overbooked. This cost our local businesses money. . . . well, I could go on and on, its all in the details, which the lovely computer models operated by WSF folks in Seattle or wherever they are, are ignorant of. The details come down to people– us islanders who live here and need a system that is responsive to us–
Finally, note the words on the promotional posters and banners that WSF has printed to promote the reservation system: they say “your lifeline to the San Juans.” That says everything about who this is for– not those of us who live here.
Laurel,
You are correct. This will cost money- plain and simple. The cost of living is officially going up on Orcas Island. I have a laundry list of questions for te upcoming meeting that I hope they can answer.
I would like to thank Margot for her quick response to a question I sent her directly, she is obviously working very hard to help answer questions!
As an aside to one of my earlier questions, according to FAQ sheet, the reservations are not transferable. Not sure how that will be able to be enforced.
Marilee, If I’m reading WSF FAQ correctly #23 says that Rosario can’t buy blocks of reservations for their guests.
23. How many reservations can I make at once?
At this time, there is no limit to the number of reservations you can make at one time. However, it is
WSF policy that customers may only make reservations on behalf of another known customer. The
reservation maker must know the customer’s name and vehicle size prior to making the reservation.
A customer may not make reservations in anticipation of unknown customers, guests, or event
attendees.
FactCheck: I am the General Manager of Rosario Resort & Spa. We have never had a conversation about making reservations for our guests. We will let our guests know that they need to make reservations, just like everyone else.