— from Cathy Ellis —
“How many ferry commuters are interested in an earlier scheduled departure from Orcas to Anacortes?” If a solution can be found to adjust schedules for an earlier departure from Orcas to Anacortes, would you use it?
Please respond on-line, below, as a “comment.”
As it currently stands, our first mainland departure fluctuates seasonally between 6:45 a.m. and 7:35 a.m.
I have noticed for several years that we on Orcas never have a true “red-eye” departure. This is a major hassle for myself, as well as many others.
There are multiple reasons for an early start off island, too many to name. But, if you need to reach Seattle for appointments before 11 am, forget it. If you want to park free at the Skagit transit station in Mt. Vernon, and take a relaxing morning Amtrak southbound (which can minimize vehicles on busy roads), forget it.
BUT, if a solution could be found to this situation, which is not a certainty, would YOU actually use an earlier departure?
To facilitate this possibility, please answer one question below.
To start a serious conversation for a hopeful change in the schedule, I/we need to have an idea of how many on Orcas are concerned about this one specific issue. There are plenty of important issues for concerned Orcas residents regarding mainland ferry commutes. My quest here is simply to answer this one question.
During conversations with two Orcas members of the SJI’s Ferry Advisory Committee, I learned about some of the many complexities hindering a remedy for this situation. To name only a few ongoing issues that have consistently restricted this conversation :
- Adding an extra stop effects fuel use, increases fuel costs, and puts the morning ferry shift on overtime.
- Crew hours are a major issue.
- There are 29 unions involved in running our Washington State Ferry system.
- Our State Legislature mandates zero OT for WA state ferry employee guidelines.
Since Lopez is closer to the mainland and is on the “direct route,” it is easy for that 5:45 a.m. red eye departure from FH to stop at Lopez on its way to Anacortes. Lopez vehicles never fill up the empty space on that early departure, HOWEVER, adding Orcas as a stop between FH and Lopez would increase fuel costs as well as put state ferry employees in OT. This is why the red eye ferry from FH never stops at Orcas on way to Lopez. But, maybe another solution can be found.
IF there could be an earlier boat to Anacortes, from Orcas, would YOU use it? And, how often would you use it…. always, sometimes, once in a while?
Thank you for you responses.
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Yes, we would use it.
Yes, I would use an earlier ferry. But only a few times a year.
We would take it but only two to three times a year.
Yes, we would use it several times over a year. Next week I have to go Monday night and hotel in Mt Vernon in order to make a 9 am commitment.
No! as 6:45 or 7:35 ferry is early enough. Should I have an early appointment, then I spend the night in Anacortes where you can get an inexpensive motel and do not have to get stressed out on missing my appointment as the ferry could be late.
We would probably use it several times a year.
I would be delighted to have an earlier departure available and would use that time for the majority of off-island trips. But we deserve what we get. We are a captive customer base subject to schedules made for the benefit of ferry crews and union rules.
It might well make it easier to catch flights out of Seatac without driving down to Seattle the night before, so I suspect we’d use it.
The process of developing ferry schedules is extraordinarily complicated. I know because I was an integral creator of the schudules for over twenty years. In fact, the “express” trips we now take for granted were created by me over 35 years ago. The “old timers” will remember when all boats made all stops, both ways !!
For the record, the schedules ARE NOT made for the ferry crews or the unions. However, the union contracts and USCG rules are an integral part of the process. My former colleagues on the FAC will remember that we anguished every year to tweek the schedules to meet the needs of our neighbors.
It is important to understand that every schedule ever used has had its supporters and its detractors. Consider the differences between the current Orcas and San Juan schedules. The latter group has a “redeye” that arrives at 7:05am (too early?) and ours arrives at 8:40am (late). How is it possible to meet the preferences of islanders with so many diverse needs?
The FAC members continue to work with WSF management to represent our needs and lobby for service that will benefit as many neighbors as possible. The bottom-line with ferry scheduling is that a change in one aspect will result in a off-setting change in some other part of the daily service. It is like pushing on a bubble in a balloon, or playing “whack-a-mole”. The problem, inadequate service, pops up somewhere else.
Oh, well! What else might we expect, knowing full well that we live on an island?
An earlier ferry would certainly make our lives easier on those occasions when we need to make an early mainland connection.
Maybe once in a blue moon, if I had an early morning doctor’s appointment. As it is, the early boat goes out most morning with spaces available.
Cathy, you’ve hit on a great tool for public input, although a bit cumbersome and inefficient…at least we all can see the responses.
A follow-up might be, no matter what the deterrents, to have some printed surveys available at Saturday Market, concerning not just the scheduling query (the 30 minute rule, a change in the timing of the tier system or satisfaction the way it is, ease of navigating the website/need for changing, etc.)
I’d be happy to circulate it…….
Probably several times a year, but not regularly.
No. I don’t like taking the “redeye” we have now. Earlier would not be good for me.
Negatives OK? I myself probably would not use it unless I had to. I have nothing against the idea, though, unless it meant that the second ferry would be leaving halfway up the morning. Then I might be forced to take an early red-eye, and I would have to get up earlier, and I would probably be sleepy, stupid, and disgruntled. Bleaah.
Cathy, you are a brave person bringing this up. Forever I have heard that this is the way it is because of . . . We wouldn’t be able to do that. I come from the school that every problem can have a solution. But if we always hear that we can’t do that, we can never get anywhere. Ask “what ifs”. For exiample, Lopez has always said that we need an early ferry to get to work. (Think about that.) But what if the first run was FH to Orcas?
Yes I would use the early departure. At least twice a month.
I would prefer an earlier time – but that accounts for 12 trips per year – max.
Ben, Aristotle and I would use an earlier ferry about once a week. It would be extremely useful to us. Thanks for getting us organized! Kiki Luna
I would use it every Wed
Unlikely. If I need to get somewhere early, I usually stay at my brother’s house in Mill Creek the night before.
With the new requirement to show up 30 mins ahead of time, count me out.
I have employees going off on the red-eye often for supply runs, and an early boat wound help them to get back on the 12:00 return, but I couldn’t ask my employees to get up at 4:00 am so they have to sit in line and waste 30 mins of sleep time.
I would always take the earliest boat possible but Cathy you must remember that you are dealing with an organization that requires you, as an account holder, to agree to the terms and conditions every time you make a reservation. Imagine if every time you opened your browser or Word or went to youtube or Facebook you had to agree to the terms and conditions. This organization does not have a history of being what we would call logical. The fact that most of us always use the same vehicle and credit card but we have to enter them every time we book is another example that I brought to their attention when the web site went up and again when they had their touchy feely meeting at the senior center a few months ago. In their defense they are doing everything in their power to fill boats. It holds down our ticket cost. I believe that the reason our summer redeye is 7:35 is their hope that more tourists might be inclined to leave at 7:35. An earlier boat is always almost empty. Your idea of having the Friday Harbor red eye stop at Orcas is a good one.
NEVER!
Yes, I would take an earlier ferry maybe once a month.
Harvey, I have a personal account and don’t enter my vehicle and credit card each time, the system remembers. I believe anyone can have an account.
Yes, we would take an earlier ferry but only 3-4 times a year.
Maybe once a year.
My family tends to leave the night before and do an overnight on the mainland.
When I was working, I would have jumped at an earlier ferry. Now, retired again, I find the noon run is early enough. I also have been pleasantly surprised to find that an out front explanation of the ferry problem to medical and vendor staff when making reservations more often than not meets with a sincere effort to accommodate the travel restrictions we “islanders” endure.
Hi Cathy – We would use it perhaps a couple of times a year at most.
I’m for poor ferry service to discourage growth, but. maintain the special Orcas Island environment we all came here to escape ‘America’s’ urban growth rate, so accept a few inconvenient issues and go with the flow. Maintain the spirit of place and slow down! or we’ll destroy it.
I would take an early ferry once a week. Cathy, thanks for your organizing and putting an idea out to our island community.
Yes, an earlier Orcas departure would be nice…but given a choice, I’d much rather have a later last boat from Anacortes than 21:00 everyday except Friday…
There is currently no way to catch the Mt Vernon Amtrak “train” (often a bus to Seattle) to Portland – the early ferry does not give you time to catch it before it leaves. I’d use the red eye ferry rarely, but it would be a lifesaver when I did.
It would sure make sense to have a ferry which got to the mainland early enough to meet the Amtrak train/bus in Mt. Vernon. I would definitely have used it when my son was going to school in Portland. I think it would benefit a fair number of vistors to the islands also, and be one positive step towards supporting mass transit.
Yes I would like an earlier ferry. There are times when it would be nice to make an earlier appointment in Mt. Vernon!
Also, a ferry inbetween the 3:45 and the 7:20 to come back home on.
Yes, earlier, to be able to catch the Airporter to SeaTac at an earlier time, thus enabling a larger choice of flight times. Their conflicting schedule with WSF sometimes is as little as 5 or 10 min. causing waits of an hour (and sometimes 2 hours as Airporter does not maintain a constant ‘every hour’ schedule to the ferry landing.) I use the early ferry at least twice a month.
No to an earlier ferry. What I would like is the first ferry in winter to leave a little later than they have been scheduled, and the first ferry in summer to leave a little earlier than they are now scheduled. And I would REALLY LOVE a 5’ish boat on which to return home.
I would use it, I regularly have to be in Bellingham, Mt. Vernon , or Everett at 8:30 AM and now on those days I have to stay on the mainland. I would use an early run every time.
i rarely take the red eye. but i hate the 4 hour gap for returning ferries 3 and 7 is ridiculous! i wish there was a 5:15 or something
I would definitely use an earlier boat at least once a month, maybe more often.
I’d use this maybe once or twice a year, to make a Sea Tac flight connection. Hopefully, the schedulers will also look at the dismal afternoon/evening return schedule…those 3-4 hour gaps between sailings are really difficult. Thank you!
Yes, I would use it weekly. What about they alternate theearly boat stopping at Lopez and Orcas on different days of the week?
Jean and I would probably never need it.
Yes! I would use it two times every week to get to nursing school over the next two years. If the current “red eye” could arrive to Anacortes on schedule more often than not, that would be a huge start.
Yes, I would use it, probably once or twice a month.
I will not use an earlier ferry but why not consider a later return? Hotels are a hustle and a cost. To be at the last boat on time, one has to leave Seattle before any evening activity. An 11pm or midnight smaller boat would solve my travel needs.
Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I am not sure yet where this conversation may go next, or even if it might go anywhere. There are many good suggestions, reminders, comments.
Yes it needs to be earlier, for medical appointments, business trips or just getting out of town!
I would totally use an earlier boat at least 3-4 times per month. I regularly have to be in Bellevue earlier before 10:30am. The only way to do that is to go down the night before.