This fall, Washington State Ferries executive staff will once again be visiting our area. The meeting for Kingston is Dec. 8 from 6-8 p.m., at the Kingston Community Center; the meeting for Bainbridge is Dec 6 from 6-8 p.m., at the Bainbridge Commons. Let’s hope our legislators and county commissioners will be there to hear what we think.
It is the legislators who actually set our ferry fares by not adequately subsidizing ferry-operating costs in the Transportation Budget. There is actually a law that says the Transportation Commission must make up the difference for the Legislature’s underfunding by raising fares.
Two new groups have been assembled and put to work to address some issues relative to Washington State Ferries.
First comes the governor’s Connecting Washington Task Force, and then there is the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee Fare Media Study. Whenever this many people get together working on ferry finances and fares and the Joint Transportation Committee and the Transportation Commission are involved, you can bet there will be some significant changes in fares (increases) forthcoming.
– Connecting Washing-ton Task Force: County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido continues to represent us on this task force. Task force members are working on the priorities for transportation funding, including ferries. Please send them your comments. Go to the governor’s website and click on “Connecting Washington Task Force.” You submit comments by clicking on “website form” and typing them into the questionnaire. It is important we submit our thoughts. The Senate, Legislature, governor, and WSDOT have consistently given WSF their lowest priority for funding because they know they can make up the difference by raising fares.
On Oct. 12, WSF deputy chiefs George Capacci and Jean Baker attended the third meeting of the task force. The group discussed transportation investment principles, categories of investment, and relative priorities for those categories, as well as jobs and economic development. The meeting materials are available at www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/transportation/connectwa.asp.
– Joint Transportation Committee Fare Media Study Policy Work Group. Richard Ford, chairman of the Washington State Transportation Commission, has described the work group’s job as “a study assessing possible ways to simplify the fare structure and payment methods, as the state works toward finding ways of making it more convenient for riders to pay their fares and lower the cost of fare collections. An important part of this study is to get your input on what you think of possible changes and approaches to fares and how you pay for them.”
Why ferries do the things they do
Here are some of the rules that our boats follow when crossing over to Edmonds.
By maritime law, when vessels meet head-on they are to turn to their right. Otherwise, when they cross, the vessel on the right is obligated to hold its course while the other boat maneuvers to pass astern.
There are also some thumb rules unique to our boats. They need a quarter-mile to turn, a quarter-mile straight approach to the dock, and it takes them a quarter-mile to stop. For safety reasons, when heading out from the dock, our ferries don’t turn until a quarter-mile offshore and they avoid shallow water by a half-mile.
When passing each other, they leave between three-quarter-mile and one mile between the boats.
Puget Sound has what’s called “traffic lanes.” Ships heading to Seattle are on our side of the sound and outbound ships are on the other side. When crossing these traffic lanes, ferries are supposed to do it at a 90-degree angle. They also maneuver to pass at least one mile astern of the big ships in the lanes.
Small-car fares
Expect some delays at the tollbooth when being measured for a small-car fare. The green measurement lines you pull up to sometimes don’t align very well with the ticket booth’s window for some cars. If necessary, the toll person will come out and measure your car.
Caution: Check your vehicle’s owners manual to verify your car length is within the small car limit (less than 14 feet). Also, if you get a small car multi-ride card, you can’t use it for your larger car even if you’re willing to pay the difference.
