||| FROM ALEX MACLEOD |||
It has been almost a year since my open letter to the San Juan County Council was posted:
“I trust you all saw this week’s WSF newsletter from Patty Rubstello (WSF’s CEO). Along with making no mention of WSF’s mounting service failures, it touted the fact that Rubstello spent the past week in Santander, Spain, at an international ferry conference. Leaving the country when all hands should be on deck, and when, in fact, WSF doesn’t have an operations director, should tell you that it’s time to stop sitting on your hands and speak up.
“Oh, but I see your Tuesday agenda has a discussion of “legislative advocacy for Washington State Ferries,” which is about as tone deaf as Rubstello’s trip to Spain. What about the here and now? What about the impacts to the county, its businesses and your constituents caused by this mess right now? Your own FAC chair says bad as this is getting, it’s only going to get worse? What can you do or say right now to try to make a difference? There will be a time for legislative advocacy, I’m sure, but that’s no solution for what your constituents are facing right now.”
I was reminded of it when I read Rubstello’s weekly ferry report last Thursday, in which the top item was her report on having just returned from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s 90th annual meeting in Austin, Texas, an “event for tolling professionals to gather, share knowledge, explore new solutions and spark new business opportunities.”
Last Thursday, for anyone who needed to ride a ferry, also was the day both the Yakima and Chelan began the day out of service (OOS in WSF lingo). To provide at least a little service from Orcas, Shaw and Lopez, the Tillikum was diverted to Anacortes, scrubbing its first inter-island run of the day. The Yakima later returned to service, the Chelan did not.
The day before, the Samish was OOS from early morning until mid-afternoon, the Yakima and Tillikum were running 90-minutes behind
schedule and the Chelan went OOS that evening as the three remaining boats continued to run up to 90 minutes behind schedule. That was followed Saturday afternoon by the Tillikum going OOS for the remainder of the day.
Most of these canceled sailings were the result of insufficient crew to meet Coast Guard requirements. This has happened up here far more than anywhere else in the WSF system, going back before Rubstello spent a lovely week in coastal Spain, yet it continues unabated. The years-long failure of WSF management to prepare for a known bubble of retirements, and its continuing failure to solve the staffing problems up here, has gone well past the point of excuses.
Meanwhile, our own County Council sits idly by, doing and saying nothing as the county’s economy and daily life of their constituents are upended by these regular cancellations. As far as I can tell, the council’s last discussion of ferry issues was a year ago, the one focused on “legislative advocacy.”
A year later, ferry service in the county has declined precipitously with no improvement in sight. (Yes, WSF now has an operations manager, a guy whose last job was with an Italian cruise line.) Suggestions have been offered for short-term fixes, which the council has ignored. Without our elected officials speaking out, WSF will continue to do what it’s done for a couple of decades: ignore San Juan County. It’s time to ask again: How is that working out, council?
Alex has a good handle on what ails the ferry system. It dismays me that there is so little response from your readers. Again I suspect it is because most of us think complaining is a waste of time and no one ever listens. The San Juan Islands are a low priority in the State transportation system. I well remember the momentous day we went to the Orcas Library for an orientation on the new reservation system. It was “a put your finger in the dike affair.” There may have been room for a couple dozen islanders when there were close to a hundred who came. For the most momentous change to our ferry system in decades WSDOT figured only a few of us would attend. Some islanders had come from the far corners of the island only to be turned away. I learned that day how insignificant the island ferries were to WSDOT. It was woefully obvious how unprepared the presenters were.
I have found the Orcasonian format easy to use. The links to legislators are cumbersome and off-putting. At least residents could spend a few minutes to respond so there would be a record of discourse somewhere. Are there only a dozen or so of us on Orcas that are dissatisfied with ferry service? Couldn’t they simply state in one short system that “I think the ferry system *#$&@)#?” How long does that take? Without any response ferry administrators are simply going to spend their budget going to paid vacations in Spain rather than take a look at our problem here.
I meant sentence instead of system.
First of all the ferry system is robbing us when we purchase a ‘commuter’ 5-ride pass and not having the ferries available for us to use. This seems like a legal issue, do we have to go to court to stop this??? I appreciate the extra ride, however it is difficult to catch that boat! How is it possible to call someone a commuter who travels 5 times in three months??? Why should my ticket expire when I live on the island??
Secondly the new reservations system is good for tourists, and vacation home owners, but not good for the average islander who needs to access the mainland.
How is it that at 7:05 each morning all the reservations are taken???? And then, again at 4-or 5 0’clock in the afternoon is when most become available????
It appears that these are business decisions, which are understandable, however it seems unfair to the residents. ( If I had 4 rental units , I would try to get at least 4 reservations for those units, DAILY. I could always cancel later) — and sorry for the inconvenience it causes for the rest of the islanders!!!!
We have much more than 4 rental units available on Orcas.