WSF Weekly Report | Schedule revisions to SJIs; no crew-related cancellations

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

A message from Steve

We are a transit agency, as well as an extension of the state highway system, providing public transportation to connect communities all over Western Washington. That means when we make an adjustment to our sailing schedules, we need to work closely with the communities that rely on us. Our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route has sorely needed an overhaul. The current schedules have not been revised in 10 to 15 years and are so out of date that it causes delays and frustration for all involved.

Our service planning team created new sailing schedules for our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route after working closely with a community task force, an internal team, and input from the public. They used a lot of data, like population growth, vehicle counts and sailing options for each community.

Today, we released the first new seasonal schedule for this coming winter. Vehicle reservations for the updated schedules running from Dec. 29 to March 22, 2025, will be available at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29. We have worked for nearly two years to revise our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route schedules. Thanks to emergency funding from Gov. Jay Inslee, the interisland ferry will run seven days a week this winter, instead of tying up over the weekend during this slower travel season. The expanded service is funded for just this winter, so we will need to work with legislators to secure additional money for future winter seasons. We’ll continue to work with the community as we finalize new schedules for spring/fall and summer.

I look forward to seeing how this hard work will improve ferry service and thank the many who shared their input as a part of this process.

Washington State Transportation Commission meeting

I introduced myself to the Washington State Transportation Commission on Tuesday. During a meeting in Olympia, I shared my vision for Washington State Ferries and provided updates on staffing, vessel availability and rebuilding to a 26-boat fleet. Senior Director of External Relations John Vezina then shared details about a recent study on using the Good To Go! toll system at our Fauntleroy terminal to automate fare payments. The Commission sets our fares, names our ferries and works closely with us as we are part of the state highway system.

Screenshot of a TVW recording of Senior Director of External Relations John Vezina and me answering questions during Tuesday’s WSTC meeting.

Colman Dock project update

We’re moving into the final phases our Seattle Multimodal Terminal at Colman Dock Project. A new bike shelter and two tribal-named plazas near the toll plaza are almost finished. Crews are also installing art from the Muckleshoot and Suquamish tribes and Vashon Island-based artist Elizabeth Conner. The work to replace slip three’s vehicle transfer span, the part you drive on to get to the ferry, should be done early next year. The new passenger building opened in 2022, followed by the entry building, pedestrian walkway and Marion Street bridge last year. The passenger-only terminal, used by Kitsap Transit and King County Water Taxi, opened in 2019. Our flagship terminal at Colman Dock is a key piece of a vibrant and revitalized Seattle waterfront.

A lot has changed on the Seattle waterfront, including Colman Dock. In this recent aerial from project contractor Hoffman Construction, you can see the new tribal-named plazas and bike shelter to the right of the toll plaza in and around the orange fencing are nearing completion.

Sailing stats for week of Oct. 7-13

For the week of Oct. 7-13, we completed 99.86% of our 2,795 scheduled sailings. Of our nine cancellations, two were due to a vessel being out of service, two because of fog, two for security-related issues and three due to other miscellaneous reasons. This is the third week in a row with no crewing-related cancellations.

Customer kudos

“The WSF operations and communications teams did a very good job with the Tacoma mechanical issues today. A few things of note, when the boat went down, communications were quick to let people know. You put together, what I’m sure was a nightmare of a logistical plan, to shift boats in the best interest of the ridership. The email explaining the boat changes was both clear and explained why, which was big. Once it was determined that the initial triage of the Tacoma wasn’t as severe, that was also communicated. You all take plenty of hits from the public, today you did a very good job.”

-Seattle/Bainbridge route customer