WSF Weekly Report | Celebrating women in workforce; Wenatchee shifting to normal operations

||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from Steve

One of the questions I hear most often is: how can one ferry being out of service cause so much disruption? It’s a fair question, so I want to explain it in plain terms. Our system runs on a set number of boats assigned to specific routes each day. Unlike some transportation systems, we don’t have a large number of spare vessels sitting ready to step in if something goes wrong. When one vessel has an unexpected issue, we don’t always have a backup available. That means we have to adjust in real time. Sometimes that looks like a route running with fewer sailings, a smaller vessel being used instead of a larger one or delays while we reposition vessels and crews. I know that can be frustrating, especially when you’re trying to get somewhere important.

Because many of our routes are interconnected, a change in one place can ripple across the system. What starts as one issue can affect multiple routes over the course of a day. Photo by Chief Mate Garett Meyers.

When disruptions do happen, we work hard to minimize the impact across the system and keep as much service as possible. That often means making trade-offs to balance service between routes. The work we’re focused on right now is increasing reliability, so these disruptions happen less often. This includes improving maintenance, strengthening our workforce and over time, adding new vessels to the fleet. We’re making progress, but we’re not where we want to be yet. In the meantime, please know that when something does go wrong, there are teams across the system working quickly to adjust service and keep people moving as best we can.

Wenatchee to shift from commissioning to normal operations

Next week, Wenatchee will go out of service through mid-April. This is for its annual planned maintenance period and U.S. Coast Guard inspection. We’re sharing this to give helpful context, especially since the ferry returned last summer with some expected challenges after major propulsion upgrades and a hybrid-electric conversion. That early period was part of commissioning, when crews test and adjust systems in real-world conditions. For the past several months, the vessel has been running well.

Wenatchee is using less fuel than it was prior to the hybrid-electric conversion. That number will decrease even more once shore charging is added.

This scheduled maintenance and inspection period also marks an important milestone for Wenatchee. Like all our ferries, it will now follow a regular rotation of planned service outages for preventative maintenance. These routine periods are used to fix normal wear and tear, make repairs, refresh coatings, deep clean the vessel and keep certifications up to date. In short, Wenatchee is moving out of the project phase and into steady, day-to-day operations. We will also finish the last remaining commissioning tasks, including software updates and fixing any remaining signal or alarm issues found when it first returned to service. This will complete the testing and commissioning process. Once complete, the hybrid system will be fully integrated and working as designed, marking the end of our conversion project.

Celebrating women in our workforce

As we close out Women’s History Month, it’s a good time to reflect on what this month represents. It’s about recognizing the contributions, resilience and leadership of women past and present. At Washington State Ferries, that recognition doesn’t stop in March. We support and celebrate women in our workforce all year long. I encourage you to watch this short video to hear from two of our engine room employees – Oilers Cloie McLaughlin and Monet Davis – about their experiences and what it’s like to build a career here. Their perspectives are a powerful reminder of the progress we’ve made and the opportunities ahead. Looking forward, we will keep focusing on growing our workforce, improving service and creating a system where everyone has the chance to succeed.

Fauntleroy terminal replacement project update

Our Fauntleroy terminal replacement project has completed its planning phase. The Federal Highway Administration recently approved the final Planning and Environmental Linkages study (PDF 2MB), closing a five-year process of exploring options for replacing the terminal. Based on community feedback, we are moving forward with a design that adds more dock space and increases capacity from about 80 to 124-155 vehicles. This option also avoids impacts to nearby Cove Park, and we will continue refining the design to reduce effects on other sensitive areas. Later this year, the project will enter the National and State Environmental Policy Act phase. This is when we’ll begin preliminary design, complete environmental review and permitting, and continue seeking funding. Major construction is expected to begin in 2028. The new terminal is expected to open around 2031.

As part of the project, we will build a new traffic signal at the intersection of Fauntleroy Way Southwest and the terminal. This work is scheduled to begin in the fall. This signal will make it safer and easier for people walking, biking or rolling to get on and off the ferry.

Ferry Riders’ Opinion Group survey

The Washington State Transportation Commission wants to hear about your experience riding our ferries. They are hosting a new Ferry Riders Opinion Group survey through April 15. Everyone is encouraged to take part – whether you ride often or just once in a while. Your feedback helps the commission know what we’re doing well and where we can do better. You can also sign up for the survey panel to be included in all future surveys. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and helping us improve our service.

Sailing stats for week of March 16-22

For the week of March 16-22, our systemwide on-time performance (sailings that left within 10 minutes of their scheduled departure) was 90.9%. By comparison, it was 90.9% during a similar week last year (March 17-23, 2025). To view our on-time performance by month going back to 2017, visit our on-time performance reports page.

Customer kudos

“So thankful for the kindness of strangers and the professionalism of @wsferries who secured my bag when I left it behind on the ferry this morning. Thank you so much!”

-Seattle/Bainbridge route customer on X