April 30th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
From Washington State Ferries
As Washington state ferries voyage into the peak travel season, all ferry fares will increase on May 1. Another fare change will increase the discount for vehicles shorter than 14 feet.
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is implementing an across-the-board, three-percent fare increase to help cover operating costs and meet revenue targets. This increase applies to all fare types, including vehicle/driver, walk-on, and multi-ride cards.
The Transportation Commission approved this increase last August as part of its annual review of ferry fares. The state transportation budget requires WSF to meet an overall revenue target of $310 million that must be collected from ferry fares between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2013.
Single-ticket prices for vehicles will also increase 25 percent on all routes, except for the San Juan Islands where they will increase 35 percent, as part of a peak-season surcharge that begins in May. The seasonal surcharge helps pay for increased operational costs that come with increased traffic May through September.
Also beginning May 1 is a bigger discount for vehicles shorter than 14 feet. Drivers of small vehicles will now pay 20 percent less than drivers of standard-sized vehicles. The discount increases from 10 percent to 20 percent. Smaller vehicles are still subject to the three percent fare increase and seasonal surcharge.
To find the fare for your route and mode of travel, read the new fare brochure (pdf 515 kb).
April 30th, 2012 |
April 27th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
By Lance Evans
Orcas Power & Light Cooperative’s 75th Annual Meeting on the ferry is scheduled for Saturday, May 5. There is also an election for the two District 2 directors, voted on by all members, regardless of their home district.
I am one of the three candidates running for those two positions and would greatly appreciate your consideration when casting your vote.
This is an important time for OPALCO and San Juan County. On the horizon is perhaps the largest initiative undertaken by the Cooperative, and certainly one of the most critical for our County. Bringing broadband internet connectivity – at very high speeds – has the potential to make a real difference in the success of our business community, both now and into the future.
Serving my sixth year as the Executive Director for the Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce, and as a current board member of the San Juan County Economic Development Council, I am in touch with a large portion of the business community, and realize there are many businesses in our County that will benefit from this new technology.
A healthy economic future for our islands requires a business community that has the technological tools it requires. Broadband service for our county means we can offer the type of businesses vitality needed to compete in the 21st Century.
On another front, the broadband project stands to greatly improve the radio communications used by our Emergency Services agencies. As a 10-year EMT volunteer with the Orcas Island Fire Department, I have experienced the technological limitations we face on Orcas Island when communicating in the field. OPALCO’s leadership on this issue will provide another community benefit for all of San Juan County.
OPALCO has done – and continues to do – tremendous outreach to all the islands in recent years. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Cooperative. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me at levans@rockisland.com or at 376-4376.
I hope to see you on the ferry on May 5!
April 27th, 2012 |
April 17th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
Wingwalls help guide the ferry safely into the dock.
Washington State Ferries (WSF ) crews will begin construction on a nearly $3 million project at the Lopez Ferry Dock on Wednesday, April 18.
WSF reports it “is improving safety at the Lopez ferry terminal by rehabilitating its existing timber floating wingwalls. Wingwalls are v-shaped structures used to guide slowing ferry boats safely into the landing docks.
“The existing timber floating wingwalls are nearing the end of their usable lives. It is now time to make much-needed improvements so they can successfully guide ferries safely and smoothly into the landing dock.
The End Result
“Crews will rehabilitate the existing structure by refurbishing the timbers, fenders and chains. They will also complete repairing and repainting work on the existing pontoons. The project will bring the wingwall condition rating from a 45 up to an 80 out of 100, adding another 20 years to the wingwall’s useful life.”
(To read the full report, go to wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr20/lopezwingwall )
April 17th, 2012 |
April 12th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
From the San Juan Ferry Advisory Committee
Washington State Ferries (WSF) has posted the proposed summer schedule here:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Service/ScheduleProposals.htm
The schedule has been carefully reviewed by both WSF and the Ferry Advisory Committee ( FAC). There are relatively few changes from last summer: Some 5 or 10 minute adjustments to improve on-time performance, and an additional stop for Shaw in the morning and the afternoon, to streamline operations with respect to loading/unloading.
The public is asked to e-mail comments by Wednesday, April 18 to fac@sanjuanco.com
and/or wsfplanning@wsdot.wa.gov.
County Ferry Advisory Council Liaison Howie Rosenfeld says, “Summer is many folks’ least-favorite ferry schedule, yet [WSF] does a good job of moving an awful lot of folks to and from and around the islands during the busy summer season.”
The summer schedule will be in effect from Sunday, June 17 through Saturday, Sept. 22.
April 12th, 2012 |
February 6th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
By Stan Matthews
County Website and Communications Manager
Town County Lawmakers Tell Olympia “Quit Kicking the Can”
[Last] week, San Juan County Council and the Friday Harbor Town Council sent a joint message to Washington’s Governor and Legislature saying the time has come to find a stable funding source for the Washington State Ferry System. The letter declared, “This can cannot be kicked down the road anymore!”
The Joint letter was adopted unanimously by both councils and addressed to the chairs of the House and Senate Transportation Committees with copies to the Governor and other key legislators.
The text of the letter follows.
Dear Senator Haugen and Representative Clibborn:
This is the fifth year in row that the San Juan Islands route is threatened with serious cuts to ferry service. Washington State Ferries issues have been our top legislative priority. We lobby our legislators, the transportation committees and the Governor. We support the efforts of our Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC), Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) and the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). We and members of our FAC testify at House and Senate hearings. Nonetheless, the lack of sustainable ferry funding continues to threaten our marine highway, our only vehicular connection to the rest of Washington State.
If additional transportation funding is not approved by the legislature, it is proposed that the “Sidney” ferry will be eliminated in 2013. San Juan County and Friday Harbor, in addition to Anacortes, Skagit County and the State, will lose tourism funds through the loss of the international sailing. Tourism is the number 3 economic driver in the State and the San Juan routes are the biggest draw. The loss of the Sidney ferry will also cut 25% of our domestic mainland ferry service for 6 months of the year. During its 18-hour day, 11 hours are spent providing local service. If the Sidney ferry is cut, the boat would no longer come here which would seriously impact Canadian tourism as well as the San Juan Islands tourism.
It may be difficult for those who have access to paved highways to understand our concerns. Imagine the road between you and your doctor being closed for significant blocks of time. We already experience this inconvenience for appointments, wanting to see your child’s sporting event, shopping or to visit a loved one in the hospital. Please don’t make it worse.
Since the loss of MVET 12 years ago, ferries have depended on transfers from other funds to sustain the system. Current mega-projects are expected to consume all available funds and we are told that transfers after the current biennium will not be possible. Read more…
February 6th, 2012 |
February 3rd, 2012, by Margie Doyle
From Washington State Ferries
The MV Elwha, for the 7:40 am departure from Anacortes to Orcas, and the 8:55 am departure from Orcas to Shaw and Anacortes have been cancelled due to necessary maintenance to the vessel.
The next scheduled departure from Anacortes to Friday Harbor will be 8:55 am. We apologize for the inconvenience. Updates will occur when more information becomes available.
February 3rd, 2012 |
January 31st, 2012, by Margie Doyle
Changes for Fare Simplification Previewed
“Recommendation 6. WSF should streamline Sidney fares by establishing a single Sidney‐Anacortes fare with the ability to stop in the San Juan Islands and by eliminating the separate commercial and RV fares. No legislative action is required to implement this recommendation.”
From the Joint Transportation Commission Study on Fare Media Final Report Executive Summary, released Jan. 28, 2012
The above is one of 10 recommendations (see below) made in the draft final report of the Cedar River Study Group, presented to the State Transportation Commission on Jan. 17 and revised into a final draft issued on Jan. 27.
State Transportation Commissioner Tom Cowan of Lopez Island, along with fellow Commissioner Dan O’Neal of Shelton and Robert Cromwell of the Bainbridge Island Ferry Advisory Committee, served on the committee to advise the study process. The Committee also included the four legislators that make up the Joint Transportation Committee (JTC), a representative from the Governor’s office and a representative from Washington State Ferries (WSF).
The charge to the study was to advise the legislature as it “seeks a fare payment approach that accommodates the new ferry reservation system and will work with a demand management pricing system. The objective is for a simpler fare structure [in the San Juans alone there are 403 different fares] and for the fare media to provide interoperability with regional payment methods. This study will involve the JTC, the Transportation Commission, WSF, and others as appropriate.”
(From www.wstc.wa.gov)
The Final Report has been accepted by the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, who may revise or adopt it.
Last weekend, Cowan spoke to Orcas Issues regarding the study process and the 10 recommendations on ways to simplify fares and payment methods; and evaluating alternative fare media for the Washington State Ferries (WSF).
Cowan opposed Recommendation 6 noted above, saying that while the recommendation was simpler, it would “dramatically increase the fares of those traveling to Sidney from the San Juans.” He also advised the Committee repeatedly that reservations is a very controversial subject in the San Juans.
Cowan agreed with the recommendations to change the medium for fare ticketing; he noted that they will take time, but should be installed sooner than 2018, as recommended in the report.
Currently, ferry travelers use the Wave2Go automatic payment system; other state fare systems, such as the Evergreen Point and Tacoma toll bridges use the ORCA and Good To Go! systems which uses an individual account-based payment and transponders, and doesn’t require that toll booths be staffed by personnel.
The ferry system needs to have an account-based system implemented sooner than 2018. “We can’t wait until 2018,” said Cowan.
“Wave2Go is an inflexible system that the contractor doesn’t support adequately. We need to move on.” There are already systems designed for payment by cell phone for goods and services and the ferries should be open to new technologies like that, Cowan notes.
The fare simplification charge will enable the ferries to use a future software system more efficiently, Cowan says. He hopes that the Legislature will move on some of the recommendations as rapidly as possible: the expense of implementation “will only get more expensive.”
Cowan did not support the recommendation to use the Good to Go! payment method as the exclusive option for fares on the Southworth-Vashon-Fauntleroy route and possibly other routes that will not have a full reservation system. He said “It requires more study because there would be no charge for passengers, which means that vehicle rates will increase 30 percent.”
He also recommended that fares be figured by measuring and charging vehicles per foot length. “I’ll take some heat for this. It will be controversial, but it will be fair. Right now we have a system that’s not very fair. You’re paying as much for a Prius at 14 ft. 3 in. as you are for a 22-foot truck.” Read more…
January 31st, 2012 |
January 26th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
From Crosscut.com
By C.B. Hall
As it floats into dock, the Chetzemoka, one of three new boats in the Washington State Ferries fleet, presents an unusual, asymmetrical image. The designers placed the tower structure, which houses the elevators, stacks and staircases, off to one side.
The Chetzemoka, and its sister ships Kennewick and Salish, have also gained a certain fame as the only ships in the fleet that list.
All three boats, designed to hold 64 vehicles, have now been delivered to WSF, although the newest, the Kennewick, has not yet entered service. With the Kennewick undergoing its final, get-the-bugs-out sea trials, those around the ferry system, including riders, are continuing to assess various aspects of the vessel replacement program.
The new vessels’ introduction acquired a new, unsettling context earlier this month, when Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond, in a presentation to the Legislature’s transportation committees, indicated that five ferry routes would have to be eliminated altogether in the absence of further transfers from the state’s Motor Vehicle Fund, which has propped up ferry operations for more than a decade.
To read the full article and reader comments, go to: crosscut.com/2012/01/26/ferries/21811/State-s-newest-ferries
(Editor’s note: Washington State Transportation Commission member, Lopez resident Tom Cowan, will make a presentation to the County Charter Review Commission (CRC) this Saturday, Jan. 28. The CRC will meet Grace at Grace Episcopal Church on Fisherman Bay Rd. The meeting will begin at approximately 8:00 am, and end by 2:00 p.m.)
January 26th, 2012 |
January 14th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
On Jan. 13, Washington State Ferries (WSF) Division Secretary David Moseley reported that the recent change in ferry assignments is due to mechanical problems that are now being repaired.
“On Jan. 6, the 144-car Yakima was towed from Anacortes to WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for repairs to a thrust bearing. We are working hard to fix the problem and estimate that the Yakima will return to service mid to late next week.
“The 64-car Chetzemoka, which had been in standby status, began serving as the San Juan Islands inter-island vessel Monday, Jan. 9. The 87-car Evergreen State, 90-car Sealth, and 144-car Elwha are currently serving as the mainland vessels.
“I recognize that we are experiencing delays of approximately 20-60 minutes since the Evergreen State is a slower vessel than the Yakima and we are committed to providing regular updates to customers via email alerts.
“I appreciate your patience while this repair is under way and I want to thank all involved for moving quickly to return the Yakima to service.”
January 14th, 2012 |
January 7th, 2012, by Margie Doyle
Updated at 10:30 a.m., Jan. 7
Washington State Ferries (WSF) announced this morning, Jan. 7, ” The 10:15 a.m. departure from Anacortes to Orcas is operat ing 25 minutes behind schedule doe to heavier than normal marine traffic.
“This will affect the 11:30 a.m. departure from Orcas, and the 12:40 p.m. departure from Anacortes.”
Due to repairs on the Yakima, sailings from Anacortes to the San Juan Islands were canceled yesterday.
WSF said, “We apologize for the inconvenience. Updates will occur when more information becomes available.”
The WSF Web Site is at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries
January 7th, 2012 |
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Vote for Lance 2012
I’ll be there, you have my support
Drew Reed
we are all better for the contributions you make to island life. thank you for all you do. i trust that you will do what needs done no matter who is seated on the OPALCO board.
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