On Friday, March 13 from 4 to 6 p.m., County Council member Rick Hughes, along with members of the Ferry Advisory Committee will be holding a Public Outreach Meeting to discuss the Ferry Reservation System.
The meeting will be held in the Lundeen Room of the Orcas Senior Center. The purpose of the meeting is to provide community members the opportunity to share their thoughts as to what works well and what needs attention. Individuals are asked to share specific circumstances in an effort to identify issues
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Not certain I will be at the meeting, but I do have an observation, based on several trips off- and back-island. We have noted that, especially for the mid-afternoon trip to the island, and especially on Fridays, the line to get through the toll booth and staged to meet the 30-minute cutoff for reservations has been long enough to make us be late for that cutoff time. If the current percentages for reservations v. standby are maintained, then there needs to be a similar percentage of tollbooths (with accompanying signage)allocated for reservations/standbys. 3 to 1 seems good to me.
And then, to accommodate the larger number of reservation people, on those days when traffic is intense, there needs to be someone (or maybe someones) to walk the line to time-stamp arrivals so that those who have reservations (or not) get a position in line/and therefore on board similar to the numbered overload ticket system of yore.
I second Bea’s observation. I have also heard this concern from other regular ferry users.
What they said. Charging people $10 because they had to wait in a long line to check in is nuts.
The one fact missing here is that we are NOT charged the no-show fee just because we arrive (somewhere…before or after the ticket booth) after the 30 min. “cut-off” time. The 30 TO 90 minutes urges us to get there before the boat starts loading.
What would help would be to have WSF change to 45-90 minutes. Psychologically, we’d plan to get there earlier.
It’s when the boat starts to load that we might lose our reservation status, and go to drive-up. If it’s a full ferry, it might then mean we don’t get on that sailing. But as long as we travel that day, we shouldn’t be subject to the fee.
I agreed with Bes”s observation. Hopefull this could be corrected..
Funny that the ferry system didn’t realize that by telling everyone to show up 30 mins early that they may have an issue at the booth.
Going to be a long summer- especially if I have to arrive 90 mins early just like I did before the reservation system.
And Margot… I suggest you spend some time in a booth in Anacortes, because what the workers there are telling people is that if they don’t get TO THE BOOTH 30 mins ahead of sailing then their reservation is no good, and they are on standby from that point forward.
If the solution is for us to get there 90 mins ahead of the sailing, then haven’t we somewhat defeated the purpose of the entire system?
On a different topic, I find that I am frustrated at the $10.00 charge in another circumstance. Recently, I traveled to Los Angeles and made a reservation for my return to the island on the last ferry as an insurance that I would make it through Seattle traffic from Sea Tac airport in plenty of time to make the ferry on time. It turned out the second half of my flight (lay over in Oakland) was delayed two hours. I made it to the ferry booth on time but it was tight and it could have been wors had the delay been longer. Since that was the last ferry of the day and I couldn’t let WSDOT know about the delay in enough time to avoid the fine, I was resentful. I wonder if we can’t fix this situation somehow.
I wonder if there is a way to integrate the reservation system with WSDOT’s ‘Good To Go’ (tolling tech for 520 bridge, etc) technology to electronically automate check-ins…the efficiency gains might be significant…
Functionally speaking, from the Anacortes end, the reservation system doesn’t do much for islanders. And during the summer, it won’t do much for islanders at the Orcas end, either.
The Reservation system benefits visitors, almost exclusively. That’s OK: We need those visitors to help pay for our island’s infrastructure (among other things).
But we islanders also need some consideration. In terms of us, the reservation system is not working well. I don’t know what to do to fix the problem, but nevertheless it does need fixing. Maybe the balance of previously-reserved-to-last-minute car spaces needs to be revised.
As many know, I have been a critic of the structure of the system since day one. The upcoming meeting is important, as more critical than the basic system, is WSF’s ability to adapt and change the system to correct the original flaws. The ferry advisory committee members working for us are our best advocates and we need to be vocal and make sure that they know what works and what doesn’t. Steve is 100% correct, a system that only benefits tourism, at the expense of local business and residents is not sustainable.
I won’t be back on island until the 21st — super disappointed I won’t be there in time for this meeting. You’re right Justin it’s an important meeting… I hope more islanders are aware of it’s date & location!!
Steve H.– exactly which part of the reservation system ” is not working well”?
I have used it 4 times since it began and it has been flawless! I love knowing which boat I’m going to be on and not stress about getting stuck in the lot for hours and hours…
Bea has an excellent idea, there needs to be a way to account for reservation arrivals before vehicles get to the booth in Anacortes. WA State uses Good to Go for electronic tolling and transponders on trucks for weigh station information. It would be ideal if this technology could be adapted as a method of checking in vehicles with reservations at the top of the hill before proceeding to the booth for fare collection. Additionally, if the system could be developed to pay online for the trip at the same time a reservation is made, including passengers, a discount could be awarded for early payment/booking. This would help move traffic more quickly through the fare processing.
The rumor is the barcode that appears at the top of each reservation is actually a permanent ID for that individual reservation account. That means only the bar needs to be scanned that will show the most current reservation information on the screen at the collection booth. If this is true, then why not issue something like a “library card” for checking in therefore eliminating the need to print each reservation.
Another rumor is this same bar code can be added to your mobile device and can be scanned from it to provide the details on the current reservation.
If the rumors are true, then everyone needs to be informed.
I like the ferry reservation system, as knowing there will be space on a boat set aside for my car reduces time pressure and I don’t have to show up so early at the ferry terminal. You do need to plan ahead slightly, which has not been an issues for me.
That said, the reservation system does not handle the situation of arriving earlier than expected, such that you could take the earlier boat. The reservation system should be updated to include two mechanisms:
1. allow alteration of reservations up to the 30 minute cutoff for arriving at the terminal. It makes no sense to me why the cut-off is 3 hours prior to sailing; if I know I’m going to be early, then let me notifiy WSDOT of this and switch the reservation to the earlier boat; this will let me determine if there is space on the earlier boat, notifiy WSDOT that I would like a space on the earlier boat, and free up space on the later boat. As it is, after 3 hours before the sailing you’re in limbo and can’t do anything.
2. arriving at the ferry terminal early enough to catch the earlier boat (but after the three hour cut-off to change an existng reservation) results in the invitation to attempt stand-by on the earlier boat PLUS you give up the reservation you had on the later boat. This is a problem; imagine going to an airline and being told you can try stand-by on the earlier flight but you give up your ticket on your reserved flight.
What should happen is you can attempt stand-by on the earlier boat without giving up the reservation on the later boat. If you make the earlier boat, WSDOT should know this and then remove your reservation on the later boat. If you don’t get on the stand-by boat, then you still have a reserved spot on the later boat.
– rob iii
FYI the WA state ferries is planning on building a new ferry booth in a different location to help mitigate this problem. It’s in the works.
On a side note, I’ve used the reservation system a few times so far and find that it’s better suited to the mainlanders who come visit our islands, instead of helping the people that live here. I’d like to see some changes to allow the locals a better system to get OFF the island and be more flexible. If you need to leave and run errands, yet don’t know when you will be ready to come back, you are in trouble…
Write out and bring your thoughts to the meeting so that they can be collected as well. You can add your name and number if you wish. Thank you all for thoughts and ideas in advance
If the solution is for us to get there 90 mins ahead of the sailing, then haven’t we somewhat defeated the purpose of the entire system?
Exactly.
My thght a are for us islanders who ride the ferry every 2 weeks grabbing supplies to keep our businesses going on the island. Could we have a business pass or some kind of perk for actually living here and supporting the economy ON THE ISLAND. Because we all know it’s us who ride it nonstop that really help support it!!!!! So now it’s working and I have to say nice not to be running to ferry wondering if I am on,,, BUT this summer I feel there will be NO room for us small business owners to grab a ferry now and again to get a few supplies, could we have a perk like a guaranteed ferry we could grab and not let tourists fill entire boat except 10 cars?? I am talking truck trailer or box van getting on because supporting island!!! Just doesn’t seem fair.
As a contractor with a hectic schedule, I have found the new system better. My example would be, In the past I would show up early, be the first pickup with a rack on it and the booth agent tell me I’m not getting on! (Again, no vehicles in any lanes) this was frustrating..
With the reservation system, I have made every booking. Shame on me if I procrastinate to the last minuet. Because I do know better and if I want this to work its my responsibility to figure out how.
Clearly there are issues. The biggest one is obvious, the Ferry staff will be overwhelmed with the way this is run now with just a small increase of cars, they will be very unhappy shortly as this early Spring is upon us.
Clyde
Point of Clarification:
At the meeting this evening it was made clear by the WSF Officials that the 30 min arrival is the arrival time to GUARANTEE your reservation spot. Even if you arrive 15 mins ahead, your reservation still holds priority over drive-ups.
The 90 min statement is being made because they don’t want anyone showing up any earlier than that. It’s a parking space issue.
They also asked that we keep track of the time from the moment you hit the back of the line until the time you are staged for the boat. If that time exceeds 30 mins, they want to hear about it, and what boat and date it happened.
Be vocal, provide feedback and stay involved.
The main purpose of the new system was to reduce the mobs of people in Anacortes waiting a few hours and clogging the lot. I think we will still have to come early. At least the thirty minutes and enough extra time in case traffic is backed up onto the road. The difference is that in the past you could arrive 1 or 2 hours early and not be on the boat. At least now we will be on. My biggest complaint is making a reservation online and having to go through way to many screens to complete the reservation. The big problem is that they are treating individuals the same way as businesses who might have numerous individuals using the same account. If our information never changes we should not have to choose our stored card or scroll to the end of the very long disclaimer every time. If I have an individual account, I signed the disclaimer the first time I reserved and that should be enough. The web site needs a lot of improvement. Look, government is people like you and me doing the best they can. All in all the cost of a round trip with a five ride is a bargain.