WSF issues usual Memorial Day alert, but most schedules not the same as normal

||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Memorial Day weekend ferry travel

If your holiday weekend plans include a ride on our ferries, double check our sailing schedules. Most routes will operate on timetables different from Memorial Day weekends prior to COVID-19. For people boarding a ferry in Seattle, be aware that the vehicle holding lanes and turnstiles for Bainbridge and Bremerton departures have temporarily swapped places. If coming aboard in a vehicle, prepare for the possibility of long waits during peak travel times.

A face covering is required on public transportation, which includes
all our vessels and terminals, indoors and outdoors, unless in a vehicle.

Before boarding, riders are encouraged to sign up for ferry email alerts, check terminal conditions and review our COVID-19 travel updates. The Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes also offer vehicle reservations. People using state highways to get to the ferry terminal should plan ahead for potential backups and delays with real-time traffic information on the WSDOT traffic app for mobile devices.

Recap of this week’s virtual public meetings

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our online community meetings on Tuesday and last night. Following a brief presentation to start off both webinars, members of our Executive Team, staff and I answered questions from participants about a range of topics. More than 350 people registered for the meetings! If you missed them, recordings will be posted online by tomorrow, May 28.

We started each of the meetings with information about our current service situation,
followed by an update on the state transportation budget and proposed tariff changes.

New crewmembers joining fleet

This year’s fourth group of new deck employees is completing our vigorous orientation program this week. Including this latest class, 34 crewmembers have joined our fleet in 2021 and we’re expecting a bunch more as we’ll be training through August. They will help tremendously in easing our coronavirus-related crewing challenges of the past year.

All new crewmembers must go through intensive training,
which includes firefighting, personal safety and survival,
classroom time and job duty familiarization in the fleet.