WSF Chaos | SJC community stranded as ferry service deteriorates

||| FROM ED ANDREWS for COMMUNITY WATER TAXI |||

In the last four weeks, the Washington State Ferry (WSF) Inter Island service in San Juan County (SJC) has experienced its most severe performance decline, with 16 days out of the last 28 marked by service disruptions, including complete outages on two separate days. This has led to the disintegration of our once connected island community into a series of isolated pockets.

Yesterday was undoubtedly one of the darkest days in WSF’s history. Despite SJC typically relying on four operational boats to serve the community, only one was in operation due to the Samish, Yakima, and Tilikum facing mechanical and crewing issues. WSF’s decision to utilize the lone boat, the Kaleetan, to transport a single captain to resolve crewing problems at Friday Harbor further exacerbated the situation.

However, amidst this chaos, Captain Tom Bridge of Island Water Taxi, LLC displayed incredible dedication by conducting 10 runs around the islands, ferrying 36 individuals stranded due to WSF’s breakdown in just over 11 hours. Additionally, other members of the community went above and beyond, providing support to transport friends, neighbors, and family members to essential destinations, including medical appointments and workplaces. Captain Bridge also received numerous calls from areas outside his usual service range, emphasizing the widespread impact of the ferry disruptions.

Since its inception during the county fair last August, the Community Water Taxi, Captain Bridge has now had 557 passenger trips in the county to get them to where they need to be, with 50% (279 passenger trips) requiring aid in the last month alone, due to the alarming frequency of WSF service disruptions.

The current performance of WSF is unacceptable, leaving a profound impact on the lives of our friends and neighbors in SJC. The residents deserve a more dependable and efficient ferry system to ensure their ability to support their families, access critical medical services, and lead a life free from the stress of uncertain and unreliable transportation.

We urgently implore those in positions of authority to address and rectify these ongoing issues. We kindly request that you reach out to Governor Jay Inslee, WSF Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey, SJC Council Chair Jane Fuller, and SJC Councilwomen Cindy Wolf and Christine Minney to advocate for immediate reforms and improvements to the WSF service in our community.

• Governor Jay Inslee: 360-902-4111
• WSF Assistant Secretary, Steve Nevey: 206-900-4622 /// steve.nevey@wsdot.wa.gov
• SJC Council Chair & Jane Fuller: 360- 370-7475 /// janef@sanjuancountywa.gov
• SJC Councilwoman Cindy Wolf: 360-370-7477 /// cwolf@sanjuancountywa.gov
• SJC Councilwoman Christine Minney:360-370-7478 /// cminney@sanjuancountywa.gov

CWT is a group of concerned island residents looking for solutions to an inter-island walk-on water taxi service within SJC when WSF can not perform this need. We have helped people since August of 2023 to get them to medical appointments, work, court appointments, school, and basic personal travel when there are WSF disruptions. For more information, contact them at communitywatertaxi@gmail.com and/or follow them at facebook.com/communitywatertaxi.

Island Water Taxi, LLC is a locally owned company primarily providing passenger service and standard length vehicle barge service to non-ferry serviced or outer islands in the county on a charter basis. For more information, contact them at 360-303-6860 or sjcwatertaxi@gmail.com.