WSF weekly report | Season surcharge begins next week, Tour de Lopez coming up

||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

Seattle/Bainbridge route closed to vehicles Sept. 7-13, walk-on service to be provided during specified times 

Our Seattle/Bainbridge route will be closed to vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and electric scooters for six consecutive days in September for work on our overhead walkway replacement project at Bainbridge terminal. On Sept. 7-13, the entire vehicle holding area will be shut down so crews can stage cranes and equipment to lift and place the new, large metal walkway spans into place. During the closure, we will only provide service to and from Seattle for walk-on and ADA passengers travelling without a vehicle during specified times each day using the existing walkway. We will make accommodations for emergency medical vehicles during these walk-on hours only, if needed. We’re also exploring additional service options on other routes during the closure.

Footings are in place for the new walkway. Because the existing walkway is so close, we will need to close it at times to install the new one.

Prior to that major closure, we will also need to close the overhead walkway a few times this summer so crews can install mechanical equipment in preparation for the new walkway. When the overhead walkway is closed, all walk-on passengers will board via the car deck. Terminal staff will be on hand to assist our ADA customers, who will use a designated path to board and disembark the vessel. There will be no changes for vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and electric scooters, but loading and unloading delays are likely during peak hours. We’ll provide more details on all these closures in the coming months.

Service restoration update

Due to current and upcoming retirements, we are facing an increase in attrition in our workforce. Because of this crewing situation, as well as vessel availability constraints, people who use our Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route regularly should plan to remain on the current two-boat schedule. We will begin a trial of pre-pandemic three-boat weekday service as soon as we can. Service restoration on our Seattle/Bremerton route will not happen until our “Triangle” run is fully restored and we have the crew and a vessel available to operate a two-boat schedule. In addition to those updates, our latest Service Restoration Plan (PDF 794KB) Progress Report (PDF 597KB) shows that we’re maintaining at least 95% reliability on our restored routes. Just like prior to the pandemic, there are still some sailing cancellations due to crewing or vessel repairs.

Our second group of new terminal employees in 2023 recently completed new employee orientation and training. The group of eight is now working across our system.

Governor speaks to employees training to be mates

Gov. Jay Inslee spoke at a graduation ceremony Friday for 12 of our able-bodied sailors who received training to prepare them for the tests to obtain their U.S. Coast Guard mate’s license. This credential course requires four months of study at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies and is the first of three steps our employees must complete to become a licensed deck officer. A lack of mates and captains is one of the main constraints in our service restoration efforts. Thanks to funding secured by Gov. Inslee and the state Legislature, our deck crewmembers interested in getting a mate’s license now get paid time off to take the necessary courses and exams.

Gov. Jay Inslee with nine of our 12 able-bodied sailors who earned a U.S. Coast Guard mate’s license at MITAGS on Friday.

Peak season surcharge begins Monday, May 1

Starting Monday, May 1, the peak season surcharge goes into effect for vehicle-and-driver fares. This change does not affect passenger fares and multi-ride products. The surcharge lasts through Sept. 30.

Vehicle reservations for summer season available

Vehicle reservations are now available for our summer season, which runs from June 18 through Sept. 23. Our summer release is always our busiest time, and despite our IT department’s best efforts to prepare our website for a high volume of traffic, it was unable to keep up with demand Tuesday morning. Fortunately, we identified some of the issues that should help us to make improvements for future releases. The transportation budget passed by the state Legislature this week includes funding that would allow us to implement a new reservation system in the coming years. The budget is awaiting approval by the governor. In the meantime, we are actively working to improve the current system.

San Juan Islands walk-on ridership survey

We’re exploring ways to increase walk-on ridership on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route. Customers are encouraged to participate in an online survey to help us understand the public’s transportation needs and priorities. This study was directed by the state Legislature to use more of our available passenger capacity and make walking on the ferry easier.

Tour de Lopez bike event Saturday, April 29

The annual Tour de Lopez bicycle event will take place on Lopez Island this Saturday, April 29. Plan for increased traffic on our Anacortes to Lopez Island sailings over the next couple days as participants arrive for this event. On the morning of the event, we will make an extra stop at Lopez Island during our 7:30 a.m. Anacortes to Orcas Island sailing to accommodate participants.

Lane closure near Tahlequah terminal through Friday, May 5

A detour for vehicles leaving our Tahlequah terminal on the south end of Vashon Island will be in place a week longer than first expected. The northbound lane of Vashon Highway Southwest just north of the dock will now remain closed through Friday, May 5, for King County Road Services slide repair and roadside drainage work. All northbound traffic is being detoured onto 131st Ave Southwest. Because of the detour, we ask that vehicles longer than 60 feet, unless articulated, travel to the island using our Vashon terminal.