WSF Weekly Report | Fleet reliability awards, and more

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

2023 Fleet Achievement and Vessel Reliability Awards

Each year, our port engineers honor the vessel engine crews and Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility personnel who achieve the highest level of fleet reliability. The engine crews of Suquamish received our 2023 Fleet Achievement Award for scoring highest in five performance categories: Trip cancellations, assigned days, trip count, sailing hours and nautical miles sailed.

Last year, Suquamish made 10,187 trips, ran for 2,908 sailing hours during 342 days in operation, traveled 46,193 nautical miles and did not miss a trip due to mechanical failure.

A ferry reaching 100-percent mechanical reliability in a calendar year, which is no lost trips due to mechanical failure, receives a Vessel Reliability Award. In 2023, four boats achieved this goal: Kennewick, Puyallup, Suquamish and Wenatchee.

Congratulations to all the engine crews and the employees at our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for contributing immensely to the reliability of these vessels! It takes a lot of hard work to keep a ferry system running, especially when more than half our fleet is more than 40 years old.

Farebox recovery ratio for fiscal year 2023

We recently released updated data on our farebox recovery ratio (PDF 4.1MB), or the percentage customer fares pay for our operating costs. Systemwide, our farebox recovery ratio for fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023) was 50.6%. The report contains information on cost, ridership and revenue trends over the past five fiscal years for the entire system, as well as each route.

Our Edmonds/Kingston route had the highest farebox recovery ratio of 76.2% in fiscal year 2023.

Thousands of bicyclists on Seattle/Bainbridge route Sunday, Feb. 25

If you’re using our Seattle/Bainbridge route Sunday, Feb. 25, plan for delays and limited vehicle capacity as more than 2,000 bicyclists head to the island for the annual Chilly Hilly ride. Expect a lot of bikes on our Seattle departures from 7:55 to 9:35 a.m., then on sailings out of Bainbridge from 11:35 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drivers should consider alternate travel times or routes. Participants are asked to follow directions from our staff and Cascade Bicycle Club volunteers at the terminals and on our vessels.

A sea of bikes is expected on morning sailings out of Seattle Sunday, Feb. 25, and Bainbridge departures midday through afternoon.

Customer kudos

“A group from University House Wallingford, the retirement community where I live, went on our community bus to Bainbridge today. We took the 9:35 a.m. ferry from Seattle and returned on the 2:05 p.m. from Bainbridge. I want to compliment the staff at both ends on how well they accommodated our request to park by the elevator. They were able to load us first to give us a space by the elevator. On the trip back they kept the space next to us empty so we had room to exit the bus on the ferry. The helpfulness of the crew was very much appreciated. Thank you!”