Now’s your chance to watch “Staying Afloat: Challenges facing Washington State Ferries,” a one-hour documentary by TVW’s Jessica Gao. Watch The Impact tonight at 7 p.m. on TVW for follow-up interviews.

Tags: documentary, ferries, The Impact

Within months of taking over the state Transportation Department, Secretary Paula Hammond pulled four 1920s-era vessels from service because of corrosion in the hulls. The decision in November 2007 left the Port Townsend-Coupeville route without vehicle service for two winter months. Transportation leaders scrambled to build new boats to fill the service gap. Two 64-car ferries are now running the route, and a third is on its way. In an in-depth interview, Jessica Gao questioned Secretary Hammond about the boat-building process, as well as funding and management issues.

The interview is part of Jessica’s documentary, “Staying Afloat: Challenges Facing Washington State Ferries.” You can watch the documentary on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. on TVW.

In the meantime, you can also check out the documentary’s page here.

Tags: ferries, Paula Hammond, Staying Afloat, The Impact, WSDOT

The Washington State Ferry system has faced challenge after challenge over the past decade or so.  Among the major issues is its boat-building program.  With three new 64-car ferries nearly complete, the next step is to build boats that can carry about 144 cars – these boats are considered more versatile with the ability to serve larger routes throughout the system.  The legislature secured money for the first of two 144-car ferries, and ferry administrators are working toward a contract to start the first one.

Interview with WSF director David Moseley at a Bainbridge Island church, where he had just finished addressing a group of engaged citizens

In a 40-minute, in-depth interview with ferries director David Moseley, he talked about the importance of new boats to the aging fleet, as the three Evergreen State Class ferries near the end of their 60-year lifecycle.

Bidding issues have held up boat-building programs before, and it wasn’t until the 80-year-old Steel Electrics were suddenly pulled from the system in 2007 that the 64-car program was pushed through. With the 144s in the pipeline Moseley told me “we’ve got the money to build, and we’re going to start building the 144s next year.”

Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, has expressed concerns about the direction of the past and present boat procurement process (for background go here), and he’s asking the governor and state auditor’s office to investigate.

Will the state ferry system’s vessel replacement program continue to navigate rough waters in the future, as it has in the past?  It’s just one of the many questions we’re asking in our special report – Staying Afloat:  Challenges facing Washington State ferries.  Stay tuned for the premier on Tuesday, September 27th at 7:00 pm, on TVW.

Tags: ferries, The Impact

Here’s a relaxing photo to enjoy before you hear the bad news: Ferry fares are going up.

Earlier this week, the Washington State Transportation Commission adopted a 2.5 percent general fare increase, effective Oct. 1. A 3 percent increase will go into effect May 1, 2012, and every fare will have a capital surcharge of 25 cents. In addition to that, vehicle fares will be restructured to encourage people to bring smaller vehicles onto the ferry.

The changes will help bring in $310 million as required by this biennium’s transportation budget.

While fares are going up, some of the changes are designed to encourage ferry riders to ride bicycles or drive smaller cars to save space. The restructured vehicle fares, for example, will eventually mean that those driving cars under 14 feet long will pay significantly less for their vehicle fare. And the annual bicycle permit is eliminated: Those with multi-ride cards, monthly passes or an ORCA card can bring a bike for free (except for in the San Juan Islands, where only multi-ride cardholders will be able to bring a bike for free).

There’s one more change that might not be as popular as free bike passes: A fuel surcharge. The surcharge would only go into effect if gas hits $4.08 per gallon, and the surcharge would be capped at 10 percent. Changes will be assessed quarterly and customers will get a 30 day notice if any surcharge changes are made.

All these changes are aimed at making the Washington State Ferry system slightly more sustainable. Currently, funding from the Legislature and fares doesn’t match costs. TVW’s Jessica Gao has spent the last month talking with ferry experts around the state and is preparing a documentary on the system that will air Tuesday, Sept. 27. Stay tuned to this blog for more information!

Tags: documentary, fares, ferries, transportation, TVW

The Senate is unveiling its transportation budget now. First up, Sen. Curtis King, discussing ferry funding.

“Our ferry system as-is is not sustainable,” he said. This budget is structured differently than in the past, he said. It includes a $21.8 million reduction in the operating side of the transportation budget. “We are not done looking for more savings,” he said. He said the budget also makes savings by delaying some projects. He said ferries will be asked to target non-peak runs for reductions. Each ferry fair would also include a 25 cent ferry replacement surcharge under the Senate’s budget, and exempts ferry vessel fuel from sales tax.

He’s listed a half dozen bills related to ferries, including one to separate managers out and bar them from unionizing. He said increasing ridership is also a must to ensure that ferries succeed.

He said it provides $134 million for vessel fuel costs — $81 million more than the 2009-2011 biennium. “That’s a 153 percent increase and now represents 27 percent” of the operating budget for state ferries.

“We all recognize the value and the necessity of our ferry system,” he said. “This budget, I believe, starts us down that road of making our ferry system efficient” and affordable, he said.

Tags: ferries, Senate, transportation

Gov. Chris Gregoire is on TVW – live right now – announcing a collective bargaining agreement with ferries.

She ticked off a list of several agreements they’ve come to, then said: “To be frank, there is a limit to how much we can ask the 1,600 people who ensure our ferries are safe,” she said. “We do not have stable funding sources for our ferry system, that carries almost 23 million passengers a year,” she said. “Since 2000, we’ve transferred over $850 million to ferries from other accounts,” she said, and those accounts are now gone. Over the next decade, she says, they’ll need another $900 million.

“It was a very difficult and tough negotiation,” siad Capt. Tim Saffle, who represents the ferry workers. “We are going to sell this to our membership,” he said.

Tags: collective bargaining, ferries

The House Transportation committee just saw a presentation the history of Washington State ferries by Karen Schmidt. The conclusion: “The problems you are facing now are not new ones,” said Schmidt  ”They are ones that have been plaguing the ferry system for a long time.”

Here is a summary of the presentation:

The ferries date back to the 1940s, when they were privately owned by Black Ball Ferries and received federal subsidies. But change came in the 1950s and 60s when the state first refused to replace federal subsidies and then eventually took over the ferry system and raised fares. During that time, it was operated by the Toll Bridge Authority, which Schmidt said masked the ferry system’s financial problems.

The presentation tagged 1970-80 as “turbulent times,” where double-digit fare increases became an annual occurrence and ferry workers went on strike.  At that time, the gas tax included a small subsidy for ferries, said Schmidt.

In 1981, the legislature removed collective bargaining rights for salaries and replaced it with set salaries that were in line with other state employees, according the presentation. However, bargaining for working conditions and benefits was retained. After the bill became law, a three-day waterfront strike of all West Coast ports took place. (more…)

Tags: ferries

House and Senate Republicans and Democrats introduced a package of bills today to reform the state ferry system — and there’s no talk in the package of creating a regional ferry taxing district, which Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed before session.

The bills include:

Senate Bill 5405 and House Bill 1511 would cap overtime pay at time-and-a-half, require shifts be 8 hours at minimum, abolish the Marine Employment Commission, abolish free ferry rides for off-duty or retired workers and much more

Senate Bill 5406 and House Bill 1516 would create performance measures for ferry managers. Managers who don’t meet those measures would see their positions contracted out to private workers.

And House Bill 1512 (along with SB 5406) would abolish the Marine Employment Commission and instead send its duties to the Public Employee Relations Commission. And it would move ferry workers to the state’s industrial insurance program, instead of a more expensive federal program.

Signing up in support for the bills are lawmakers from Sens. Curtis King and Mary Margaret Haugen to Reps. Judy Clibburn and Mike Armstrong, among others.

Tags: ferries

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen and four of her colleagues on the Senate Transportation Committee said in a statement today that the Governor’s plan to create a new layer of government to manage ferries is not the solution.

“Isolating the needs in our ferry system and creating another layer of government to address them is not the solution. Users of ferries already pay into the highway system just like everybody else when they pay gas taxes, in addition to ferry fares.”

The statement also points out that Seattle and Vancouver residents aren’t being assessed special taxes for the 520 bridge or Vancouver Crossing. The letter calls for a transportation budget that takes all of the states needs into consideration.

The statement was signed by Haugen and Sens. Jim Hargrove, Derek Kilmer, Kevin Ranker and Tim Sheldon.

Tags: ferries, Gregoire, Senate Democrats

“It goes without saying that we find ourselves in historic times,” she said. “We are on the road to economic recovery but it is truly a bumpy path to get there,” she said. The solution: Find creative, “transformative” ways to do business.

First up: The ferry system. “Around the globe, people equate our region with Puget Sound and our iconic green and white ferries,” she said, which carry 23 million passengers a year. She said the ferry system has a “stellar safety and on-time record.”

The problem, she said, is that ferries have been dependent on highway funds for the past decade or so because MVET funds disappeared. The ferry system faces a $900 million shortfall over the next decade, even if efficiencies are found, she said.

She said full privatization isn’t a realistic solution. “Passenger fees alone cannot sustain the system,” she said, adding that fares have probably been “tapped out” because as fares increase, ridership decreases.

She proposes forming a Regional Ferry District, with representatives elected by those in the area and others appointed by the governor. (more…)

Tags: DIS, ferries, Gregoire, information services, OFM, transportation