San Juan Islands service bolstered

On Sept. 17, Gov. Jay Inslee announced issuing $1.5 million in emergency and short-term funding to restore critical ferry transportation networks throughout the San Juan Islands. Due to crewing challenges, and according to ferry officials, the inter-island route has been the least reliable in the system, causing life and safety issues for San Juan Islands’ residents and service providers.  

The most recent data shows that WSF only completed 81% of its scheduled inter-island sailings with an average on-time performance of 41%. Cancellations are primarily due to crew shortages. According to the ferry system database, the agency routinely completes 95% or more of its scheduled sailings throughout the rest of its system.

With the funding, the interisland ferry will run seven days a week this winter, instead of tying up over the weekend during this slower travel season. This change makes all vessel deck crew shifts permanent. The expanded service is funded for just this winter, with ferry officials poised to work with legislators to secure additional money for future winter seasons.

Virtual public meetings

Washington State Ferries (WSF) staff are hosting the second virtual community meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 25. Advance registration is required. Topics to be discussed include a debrief of the peak summer travel season and an update on crewing and service reliability. Participants will be able to ask questions and provide comments. A recording of both meetings will be posted to the agency’s community participation page late next week.

Fall sailing schedule

The fall sailing schedule began Sept. 22 and lasts until Dec. 28. The biggest change is on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route. The unscheduled third boat will now run on the weekend, operating Saturday midmorning to afternoon and Sunday midday to early evening. There will also be the usual seasonal timetable changes on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route and minor tweaks to the Edmonds/Kingston and Mukilteo/Clinton runs, mainly on the weekend.

Sailing stats for week of Sept. 9-15

For the week of Sept. 9 to 15, WSF completed 98.2% of the 2,829 scheduled sailings. Of the 50 cancellations, 32 were due to crewing, 14 for schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, the sailing is canceled to get it back on schedule), four because of schedule adjustments and two due to a vessel was out of service.