WSF Weekly Report | Ferry fare increase; increased service for SJC Fair

||| FROM JOHN for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from John

Steve is taking some time off for the rest of the month to recharge. We all know how helpful that can be for bringing back new ideas and fresh energy. While he’s away, I’ll be filling in as guest author of the Weekly through the end of August. As the busy summer travel season slows down, I hope our customers can also find time to relax and enjoy moments with friends and family.

Rep. Randall, congressional staff visit Eagle Harbor

On Friday, we hosted Washington Rep. Emily Randall and congressional staff from seven offices to our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility. The staffers also visited the Tacoma engine room and wheelhouse. The tour was organized by the Puget Sound Regional Council, a strong supporter of reliable ferry service. Congresswoman Randall is a longtime advocate for WSF since her time in the state Legislature. The congresswoman is co-chair of the recently formed bipartisan Congressional Ferry Caucus. The group is working to secure long-term federal funding for ferries. This visit gave us a chance to show how vital ferry transportation is for the communities that depend on them.

Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility General Manager Tim Clancy (center right) leads our congressional guests off Wenatchee during a tour of our shipyard.

Transportation commission approves ferry fare changes

The Washington State Transportation Commission approved changes to our fares last week. Every two years, the state Legislature decides how much money we must raise from passengers. The commission then sets fares to reach that amount. We do not set our own fares. On Oct. 1, passenger and vehicle fares will go up by 3%. They will go up another 3% on May 1, 2026. The peak season surcharge for vehicles will also change. Starting next summer, it will be 35% for all routes. This is the same as what riders on the San Juan Island routes pay now. Also on May 1, 2026, we will test a longer expiration date for multi-ride passes. They will be good for 120 days instead of 90 days. We hope this will help more regular riders use the discount. The Legislature also directed us to add a 3% fee on credit card payments and other transaction costs. This will start on March 1, 2026.

For passengers traveling without a vehicle on our downtown Seattle and Edmonds/Kingston routes, a roundtrip fare will go from $10.25 to $11.05 on Oct. 1 and to $11.35 on May 1, 2026.

San Juan interisland service for county fair

We’re taking some extra steps this weekend for the busy San Juan County Fair. Major events like these make our ferry service even more vital, especially between the islands. From now until Sunday, Aug. 17, we are adding extra crew to the Tillikum, our interisland ferry. We have also arranged places for standby employees to stay in Friday Harbor. This helps them be ready to respond quickly to last-minute relief requests. We’re in contact with Paraclete Charters and air transport providers too. This way, we can quickly move crew between Anacortes and San Juan Island if needed. To accommodate vendors and livestock trailers leaving the fair on Sunday, we are limiting reservation space on the 9:50 p.m. Friday Harbor to Anacortes sailing. While not funded to maintain these extra efforts every day, we’re dedicated to supporting the communities we serve during the times they need us most.

We’ve taken extra steps to help keep Tillikum running between the San Juans this weekend.

Flags honoring Seattle Storm legend to fly on all our ferries this weekend

Our ferries will help celebrate another Pacific Northwest icon this weekend – Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird. We’ll fly special “Forever Sue” flags from every vessel in service on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17. It’s part of a citywide celebration as the Storm recognize one of their all-time greats, complete with a statue unveiling outside Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday. Be on the lookout for other tributes around the region all weekend, including at the Space Needle, Lumen Field, T-Mobile Park and the Seattle Great Wheel.

Sailing stats for week of Aug. 4-10

For the week of Aug. 4-10, we completed 97.9% of our 3,124 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 66 cancellations, 23 were due to crewing, 17 because of vessel-related issues, 16 for schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers), nine for other miscellaneous reasons and one for an emergency.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Aug. 5-11, 2024), we completed 95.8% of our 2,829 scheduled sailings. Of the 120 cancellations that week, 81 were due to crewing, 28 for schedule resets, nine because of vessel-related issues and two for other miscellaneous reasons. This means we increased our completed trips by more than 2% with 10% more sailings (service restored on three routes in June and July).

Customer kudos

“Kingston to Edmonds, late afternoon: my wife, new to wheelchair use, had a little trouble crossing the ramp transitions from the terminal to the ferry.  An alert crew member quickly came to our rescue and she cheerfully gave us a hand.  It was much appreciated!”

Edmonds/Kingston route customer