WSF Weekly Report | 378,000 Labor Day riders | One more community meeting coming up

||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from Steve

While many of us took some time off over Labor Day weekend, hundreds of people across our system were hard at work safely moving more than 378,000 riders from Thursday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 7. As the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day also wraps up what has been a very busy peak season for us. We had eight days with more than 90,000 riders this year. That’s our most since 2019. The last two came this past Saturday and Sunday. This growth in ridership is a good thing. More people choosing to ride our ferries helps us make the case for the resources we need to support the system today and build a stronger, more reliable system for the future.

We carried more than 140,000 vehicles over Labor Day weekend. Our Mukilteo/Clinton route transported the most with nearly 31,000.

From Sept. 3-7, we completed 98.9% of our 2,247 scheduled sailings. That’s slightly down from Labor Day weekend last year, when we completed 99.1% of our 2,242 scheduled sailings from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1. As we enter our slower season, we will also ramp up scheduled maintenance on our aging fleet. With no spare boat available, if any of this work takes longer than planned, service may be affected. We are seeing that this week on our Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route as scheduled maintenance on Sealth is taking a bit longer than expected. If sea trials go well, it’s expected to return to service by next week.

One online community meeting down, one to go

Thanks to the 75 people who joined us this morning for our first of two online community meetings. We started the 11 a.m. session with a short presentation recapping our busy summer and an update on new vessel construction. Most of the time was set aside for questions and answers. We’ll share the same information during the second meeting at 6 tonight, Sept. 10, followed by a Q&A session. You can send questions or comments ahead of time by email. Prior registration is required to attend via Zoom. A recording of both meetings will be posted online tomorrow, Sept. 11, on our community participation page.

Assistant Secretary John Vezina provided a quick summary at the beginning of this morning’s online community meeting, along with and Electrification Program Administrator David Sowers. Most of the time was spent answering questions from attendees.

Sailing stats for week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 6

For the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, we completed 98.6% of our 3,148 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 47 cancellations, 20 were due to vessel-related issues, 17 for crewing, six because of schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers), three due to other miscellaneous reasons and one for an emergency.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Sept. 1-7, 2025), we completed 98.9% of our 3,118 scheduled sailings. Of the 38 cancellations that week, 16 were because of schedule resets, nine due to vessel-related issues, seven for crewing and six because of weather.

Customer kudos

“We have been riding the ferries for 53 years. Season in, season out… in all kinds of weather, all times and tribulations. Through it all, I have nothing but great things to say about the Washington State ferry workers.

“Yesterday was a perfect example. Preoccupied with a doctor’s appointment, I inadvertently left my purse, wallet and new cell phone in the port side car deck restroom. The boat was the 11:30 Wenatchee, Bainbridge/Seattle.

“When I arrived at First Hill in Seattle, I was horrified when I discovered my loss. My phone was unlocked and my wallet was full of credit cards that would have to be replaced.

“Distraught, I called Customer Service from Seattle around 12:35 pm, at (206) 464 6409. To my surprise and relief, a real person answered! They quickly referred me to Lost and Found at (206) 515 3438. Once again, the call was quickly and empathetically answered. The lady at Lost and Found, in turn, contacted the First Mates Office on the Wenatchee, who found my phone. They then reached out to me on my husband’s phone. “James” had it waiting for me at the Terminal Information Office as I boarded the 3:00 boat home.

“I just can’t thank everyone involved enough and I thought you should know.”

-Seattle/Bainbridge route customer