WSF Weekly Report | History behind service disruptions; terminal upgrades coming; winter schedule update

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

A message from Steve

Last week, I shared some of the history behind the pay dispute that led to significant ferry service disruptions on Monday, October 5. I also acknowledged the impact those disruptions had on the thousands of people who depend on our ferries every day. I want to follow up with an update on what has happened since.

Governor Ferguson met directly with the union representing our marine engineers and reaffirmed his commitment to addressing the pay disparity between our deck and engineering crews. He has also directed a new salary survey to help inform the next round of wage negotiations in 2027. I appreciate the Governor’s personal involvement and his commitment to finding a way forward. The state’s financial challenges remain significant, and there is no immediate solution to the pay dispute, but these are important steps toward addressing an issue that has been building for several years.

Providing safe, reliable ferry service is our top priority.

For our customers, I recognize that the details of labor negotiations may be less important than knowing your ferry will be there when you need it. I understand that. You rely on us to get to work, school, medical appointments and the many other places you need to be. When we don’t deliver, the consequences are real.

Over the past several years, we’ve made substantial progress rebuilding our workforce and restoring ferry service. We’ve also begun the long-overdue work of replacing our aging vessels. There is still a great deal to do, and the events of last week were a reminder of just how much our communities depend on the work we’re doing. My responsibility is to keep that work moving, advocate for the resources our system needs and continue to do everything within my authority to provide the safe, reliable service you deserve.

Knot’s Landing hosts Grand Opening at Colman Dock

Tomorrow, passengers traveling on the Seattle/Bremerton and Seattle/Bainbridge ferry routes can try a new food offering at the Seattle Multimodal Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock. Knots Landing features fresh, pretzels prepared daily on-site with an artisan approach to a classic favorite. The menu includes both traditional and specialty pretzel offerings, creating a unique grab-and-go experience for commuters, visitors, and ferry travelers alike. Knots Landing will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. starting tomorrow, October 16.

Passengers traveling through the Seattle Multimodal Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock can try a new food offering starting tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Planned terminal upgrades to affect Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville service in February and March

Today, we started providing an early heads up to customers about planned service changes on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes in late February and March 2027. We’ll be upgrading the vehicle transfer spans at several terminals to improve safety for our crews and make service more reliable. The work will require 48-hour service closures at our single-slip terminals in Orcas Island (March 9-10), Lopez Island (March 16-17) and Coupeville (March 23-24). At Anacortes, we’ll keep service running from one slip while we upgrade the other (Feb. 22-26). As you plan for winter vehicle reservations on these routes, please be aware that reservations will be blocked on the closure dates at the Orcas and Lopez Island terminals and reduced at the Anacortes Terminal.

We know these changes will affect travel, especially for island communities. We worked with local communities to choose dates that limit disruption as much as possible. We’re sharing the dates now so you have time to plan ahead. Visit the project page to learn more about the work and what to expect as construction gets closer. Thank you for your patience as we make these important upgrades to keep our ferry system safe and reliable.

This diagram shows the structural, mechanical and electrical components that will be replaced at our Anacortes, Coupeville, Lopez Island and Orcas Island terminals as part of this project.

Winter vehicle reservations available at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27

Vehicle reservations for our winter sailing season (Dec. 27 to March 20, 2027) open on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Starting at 10 a.m., customers can save a spot for travel on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes. To keep our website from getting overloaded, we’ll use a virtual waiting room, just like in past seasonal releases. If you are sent to the waiting room, you’ll see your place in line, the estimated wait time and an option to get a notification when it’s your turn to book.

For our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route, we will release 30% of vehicle reservations space, with another 30% becoming available two weeks before each sailing and the final 30% opening two days before each sailing. Both the two-week and two-day releases are at 7 a.m. For our Port Townsend/Coupeville run, 80% of vehicle reservations will open on Oct. 27. For both routes, the remaining space is held for emergency and stand-by vehicles.

This will be our second winter with increased service on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route as fall timetables will remain in place through spring. This single, nine-month “off-peak” schedule was created based on community feedback. Photo courtesy Greg Bell.

Share your ferry experience in new survey

How is your experience riding on our ferries? The Washington State Transportation Commission wants to hear from you. A new Ferry Riders Opinion Group survey is now live. Whether you ride our ferries every week or only now and then, your feedback can help the commission understand what’s working well and where there is room to improve. You can also join the Ferry Riders Opinion Group to take part in future surveys. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and help shape the future of ferry service.

Kingston Community Advisory Council discusses Active Traffic Management System

Last night, WSF Assistant Secretary John Vezina joined WSDOT Olympic Region Assistant Regional Administrator JoAnn Schuyler in presenting to the Kingston Community Advisory Council (KCAC) and members of the public about the Active Traffic Management System (ATMS). Monday, Oct. 12 was the last day the system operations ran 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. through the peak season. They shared plans to address challenges with the new system, including reconsidering hours of operation, adding signage to prohibit U-turns and other adjustments based on public feedback. Most changes will be implemented before Mother’s Day 2027 when daily operations begin again. WSF will work with KCAC and engage with customers and the Kingston community before finalizing any adjustments to the ATMS.

Sailing stats for week of Oct. 5-11

For the week of Oct. 5-11, we completed 90.6% of our 2,850 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 284 cancellations, 254 were due to crewing, 16 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), 12 for other miscellaneous reasons and two due to tidal currents.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Oct. 6-12, 2025), we completed 98.3% of our 2,969 scheduled sailings. Of the 58 cancellations that week, 39 were because of crewing, six for tidal currents, four due to schedule resets, four because of vessel-related issues, four for other miscellaneous reasons and one due to an emergency.

Customer kudos

“I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for your team and the kindness and help we received after accidentally leaving a phone behind on the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry.

“My family and I were on the 3:50 PM sailing from Seattle to Bainbridge on 9/4. A few hours after getting off the ferry, my mom realized her phone had been lost. As you can imagine, there was a moment of panic, especially since we were already far away from the terminal.

“We’re especially grateful to the crew member who found the phone and kept it safe until we could retrieve it. We were starting our family trip, and losing the phone completely would have made an already hectic situation much more difficult. We were incredibly relieved knowing it was in good hands, and we truly appreciate the care and effort the crew took to return it safely. Their kindness genuinely made a difference in our trip.

“I know ferry staff help thousands of passengers daily, and moments like this may seem small in the bigger picture, but the kindness your team showed us genuinely made a difference. We were incredibly relieved and grateful to have the phone safely recovered.

“Please extend our appreciation to the staff and crew who helped us that day. We are very thankful for the work your team does and wanted to ensure their efforts did not go unrecognized.”

-Seattle/Bainbridge route customer