WSF Weekly Report | Thanksgiving ridership up; technology partners selected to power new ferries; become a FROG

||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from Steve

November was a strong month for Washington State Ferries. By every metric, our service is improving, and people are noticing. I’m hearing that from customers, community leaders, and partners across the region. I’m proud to share that we completed 99.2% of our more than 13,000 scheduled sailings last month. We carried almost 1.5 million riders, or nearly 100,000 more than November 2024. Ridership was high over final five days of the month for the Thanksgiving travel rush. We moved 308,000 passengers from Nov. 26-30. All this doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from the work happening everywhere across the system. We are Turning the Tide because of the collaboration and commitment we see every day from our employees, and it’s restoring something essential: Boats Communities Trust.

Our Thanksgiving weekend ridership was up nearly 20,000 from the same Wednesday through Sunday period last year.

This kind of progress happens because of the dedicated people who keep our system running. Along with the deck crews and terminal staff you often see, this includes the employees in the engine room, our marine operations watch supervisors, dispatchers, customer service agents, Eagle Harbor Maintenance teams, and our warehouse and office support staff. Many of them spent the Thanksgiving weekend making sure customers could travel safely to their destinations. I’m deeply grateful for their service. We know there are challenges ahead, but rowing together in the same direction, we’ll get there together. To our riders, thank you for your patience and partnership as we continue our voyage toward brighter skies and smoother seas.

Dressed as turkeys and delivering smiles, Able-Bodied Seafarer Josh Starcevich and Ordinary Seafarer Jessica Dyson brought holiday cheer to the Sealth while helping thousands of riders get where they needed to go.

Triangle route on two-boat schedule for a week starting Monday, Dec. 8

On Monday, Dec. 8, our Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route will shift to its two-boat schedule for about a week. We try to avoid service disruptions for vessel maintenance, but it’s a delicate balancing act. With many of our ferries approaching the end of their service life, regular maintenance is vital, so they stay safe and reliable for years to come. Following our Service Contingency Plan, our Triangle run will lose its #3 boat next week when Chelan enters dry dock for a couple of months, as required by the U.S. Coast Guard. The route’s third ferry will return once Tillikum is back in service. That vessel is out longer than planned after we found additional issues during recent scheduled preservation work. If sea trials go well, Tillikum should return late next week as our San Juan interisland boat, freeing up Salish to move to Point Defiance/Tahlequah and Sealth to move to the Triangle run. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as we provide as much service as possible with a limited and aging fleet.

Technology partners selected to power new ferries, install terminal charging systems

We recently selected electrification technology leader ABB to power our new hybrid-electric ferries. Their technology will help us build boats that are quieter, cleaner and more reliable. ABB helped us in the early stages as we selected the right technology for our new vessels. This included work on engines, batteries and propellers. Now, they will design a complete propulsion system. They will also make sure the equipment arrives on time and provide support during installation and testing. In July, Gov. Bob Ferguson selected Eastern Shipbuilding Group to build three new 160-auto hybrid-electric ferries. Eastern is finishing the design work and creating a detailed project schedule. Construction is expected to begin next year.

Rendering of new 160-car hybrid-electric vessel. The first new boat could be in service as early as 2030. We are offering Eastern incentives to deliver the ferries sooner.

We also recently chose Stemmann-Technik to provide the automated charging system for our new ferries. The $10.58 million contract will add fast charging systems to five terminals: Bainbridge Island, Seattle, Clinton, Bremerton and Kingston. Seattle’s Colman Dock will be the first with the new system. Two charging towers are planned there by 2029. Stemmann-Technik, a Wabtec company, is a leading maker of energy and data transfer components and systems in industrial and transport technology. These milestones for our System Electrification Program bring us closer to our goals outlined in our 2040 Long Range Plan.

Staff input leads to safer Southworth terminal

Hearing ideas directly from our employees in the fleet is essential to improving service. Their suggestions are core to Turning the Tide, our employee empowerment initiative. A terrific example is the work recently completed at our Southworth terminal. Staff there were concerned that pedestrians and vehicles were not separated safely. They told our Designated Person Ashore Kevin Bartoy about the problem. Kevin worked with the terminal and our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility employees to find a solution. They decided to install delineator posts, which are now in place. I appreciate our Southworth terminal staff for watching out for our customers and for working together to make this improvement happen.

Thanks to concerns from our Southworth terminal staff, yellow posts were installed on the dock to help keep pedestrians and vehicles safely apart.

Join the Ferry Riders’ Opinion Group

The Washington State Transportation Commission is inviting ferry riders and the public to join the Ferry Riders’ Opinion Group, or FROG. This group gives you a chance to share your ferry experiences and provide feedback that directly helps shape our service, operations and fares. The commission uses FROG to conduct periodic online surveys to gather input. Sign up to be included in all future surveys and help guide positive change here at Washington State Ferries.

Sailing stats for week of Nov. 17-23, Nov. 24-30

For the week of Nov. 17-23, we completed 99.8% of our 3,059 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. All six cancellations were due to tidal currents.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Nov. 18-24, 2024), we completed 98.4% of our 2,789 scheduled sailings. Of the 46 cancellations that week, 22 were because of weather, 18 for crewing, three due to schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers), two because of tidal currents and one for other miscellaneous reasons.  

For the week of Nov. 24-30, we completed 99.6% of our 3,057 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 14 cancellations, five were due to crewing, five because of other miscellaneous reasons and four for schedule resets.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Nov. 25- to Dec. 1, 2024), we completed 99.5% of our 2,791 scheduled sailings. Of the 20 cancellations that week, 10 were due to tidal currents, eight because of schedule resets and two for crewing.

Customer kudos

“I just wanted to say what an amazing team you have. I spoke with two different representatives yesterday, Stefan (Kaste) and Indigo (Carlamari Brenah) and they were both incredibly kind and helpful. I am not sure how to get in touch with them to thank them directly but if they have an email I could reach out to them by or if you could pass along this message, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for all you do to serve our community!”

-Call center customer