WSF Weekly Update | Steve’s been here a year; focus on ferry fares; caught in the headlights

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

A message from Steve

This week marks a year since I took over as head of Washington State Ferries – the honor of my professional career. If I had to sum up how I feel in just one word it would be “proud.” Our team has accomplished a great deal in the last 12 months:

• Improved service: We are regularly completing more than 98% of our scheduled sailings. Our crewing numbers are now higher than pre-pandemic levels. This, along with our fleet colleagues’ commitment to service excellence, means customers are more confident they can rely on our schedules. I appreciate our fleet and terminal employees who have worked long hours while we recruited and hired a deeper bench.
• Service restoration: Improving our service is one of Gov. Bob Ferguson’s top priorities. Last week, he announced a delay in the hybrid-electric conversions of Tacoma and Puyallup. The conversions will now happen after next year’s World Cup. This means we’ll have 18 vessels available this summer, restoring domestic service.

Kudos to our vessel maintenance, Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility and engine room employees for their hard work making as many vessels as possible available for service.

• New vessels: We’re less than a month away from opening bids for new vessels. The Legislature has authorized us to build five 160-vehicle hybrid-electric boats, with $1.3 billion in funding. We’re excited to sign a contract with at least one shipyard in May, with the first new vessel delivered in 2029.
• Redefined priorities: We’ve focused our work around three clear strategic priorities: Service Excellence, Improved Communication and Empowered People.
• Reorganized leadership: We consolidated 11 departments into five and created the Strategic Leadership Team to drive strategy and execution.
• Strengthened our commitment to safety and learning: We created the new Quality, Health, Safety & Environment Department. This ensures we learn from past experiences, share those lessons and take proactive steps to prevent future issues. As part of this, we’ve also increased the visibility of the Designated Person Ashore so that all employees know where to turn when they feel their concerns are not being heard.
• Continued to work on improving our culture: We combined the results of a formal culture assessment with existing efforts to continue to shape a stronger, more effective workplace.
• Built trust with crucial partners: We engaged with elected officials and communities, explaining our constraints and challenges, and building support for our needs.
• Increased focus on reliability: While challenges remain, we’ve laid the foundation for long-term service improvements.

This is just the beginning. A year ago, WSF was an organization navigating a post-pandemic world. We had huge resource constraints and major challenges. Now, there’s a clear direction, renewed momentum and a path forward.

When I joined WSF three years ago, we were operating at severely reduced service levels due to staffing shortages and lack of vessel availability. I’m incredibly proud that, at the end of my first 12 months as head of WSF, we’re ready to take a major step forward and restore domestic service. Without forgetting that we still need to restore the Sidney route when we get new vessels.

There’s still a long way to go, but we are making real progress. Thank you for your patience, your feedback and your support as we continue working to deliver the ferry system you can be proud of, and our customers deserve.

Transportation Commission to focus on ferry fares at virtual meeting next week

The Washington State Transportation Commission will begin discussions next week on possible ferry fare changes later this year. The Commission sets our fares based on targets determined by the state Legislature. The public is invited to attend WSTC’s March 18-19 virtual meeting via Zoom. Registration is required. A presentation on our ferry fare and tariff process is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. Tuesday. Virtual public comment will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday. You can send written feedback to transc@wstc.wa.gov.

Annual vessels and terminals report in latest WSDOT Gray Notebook

WSDOT’s latest Gray Notebook focuses on the state of our vessels and terminals. The interactive performance and accountability report outlines our preservation needs in years ahead.

Highlights from fiscal year 2024 include:

• A vessel preservation backlog of $266.1 million.
• 19% of our fleet (four out of 21 vessels) is in a state of good repair.
• 91.8% of terminal assets is in a state of good repair.

WSDOT’s Gray Notebook also provides quarterly updates on our trip completion rate, ridership and on-time performance. Photo by Ordinary Sailor Garrett Meyers.

Blinded by the light

Ever been blinded by oncoming high beams? It’s frustrating – and even dangerous. The same goes for our deck crews when vehicles board with headlights on, especially at night. Bright lights can impair their vision, making it harder to guide drivers safely onto the ferry. For everyone’s safety, please remember to turn off your headlights while loading. A simple switch can make a big difference for our crews, fellow passengers and you.

Headlights can make it hard for our deck crews to see while directing traffic onto the ferry, creating a safety hazard.

2 new plazas at Colman Dock honor tribal history

Two new plazas with tribal names are open along Alaskan Way/Dzidzilalich in front our Seattle terminal. Both have official Lushootseed names. They honor two federally recognized tribes we consulted with on our Colman Dock project. The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe named the south plaza near Yesler Way, sluʔwił. It’s a reference to a canoe shortcut through the reeds near Colman Dock. The Suquamish Tribe named the north plaza near Columbia Street, ʔulułali. It means place of traveling by water. Both tribes submitted names for their plazas, which were then approved by the Washington State Transportation Commission.

Official signs designating the plaza names went up on Tuesday.

Sailing stats for week of March 3-9

For the week of March 3-9, we completed 98.2% of our 2,728 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 48 cancellations, 20 were for vessel-related issues, 16 due to tidal currents, six because of weather and six for schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers). There were no cancellations due to crewing.

Customer kudos

“…The wind was so bad and this was my first time ever experiencing what happens on the ferry with bad weather. The announcer came on the loud speaker and said that if we were in our vehicle to stay put and if you were walking around, find a spot and stay put for the next 20 minutes. Again, the wind hadn’t gotten crazy so I was so confused (as it was my first time in bad weather). … Almost immediately the huge waves started. I was on the lower deck in my vehicle next to the rails. I could see the huge dips and waves and was so terrified I couldn’t even speak. … This email is to say thank you so much to the staff and most importantly the captain (John Kochel). I saw how he slowed down when he needed to and steered away from waves when needed. I was so impressed by how calm the driving of the boat was done. Thank you so much for keeping us safe. We never get to see the driver of the boat but just the crew. I thanked the ones I could see but I really want the captain to know how much I appreciated him…”

-Anacortes/San Juan Islands route customer