In the news:

Dec 16, 2023 Everett Herald

Longtime state ferry commuters: ‘This is the worst it’s been’

Thousands of commuters rely on the Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton ferries. But delays and cancellations have piled up.

“Suzanne Woodard couldn’t rely on the ferries to get her from Clinton to Mukilteo on time for work.

So in February, she resigned from her job at Providence’s hospital in Everett.

No matter how hard Woodard tried, she said, she couldn’t meet her employer’s expectations.

She attended rider feedback programs and committee meetings. She met with ferry personnel. Still, nothing changed.”

“It’s been a snowballing problem for commuters and tourists alike. Upgrading the fleet will take decades.”

Some may be asking: If it takes decades to upgrade, what action was taken 20 years ago to prepare for the current situation?

“Carl Krieger, of Kingston, reclined in his seat, scrolling through his phone after a long work day. He commutes to Everett five days a week.”

“I have never seen it this bad and I’ve been taking ferries my whole life,” he said, with clear annoyance in his voice. “This is the worst it’s been. It’s (expletive) ridiculous.”

 

January, 2024 KOMO News

Washington State Ferries plans for reduced service amid lack of vessels and crew

“WSF faces severe staff shortages that are unprecedented in its 70-year history.”

Seems like 70 years would be enough time to act on all lessons learned Re: maintenance, budget, staffing/hiring/HR, planning for upgrades, etc.

Credit to KOMO for allowing reader comments.

From comments:

“Wow…who knew that requiring new ferries to be carbon neutral would cause such a problem? Everybody…”

 

Seattle Times Jan 4, 2024

WA ferry system scraps timeline for resuming normal service

“After several years of trying to predict when normal ferry service might return, Washington State Ferries is now acknowledging what most regular riders likely already suspected: Until new boats come online four to five years from now, normal service is not possible.”

Welcome Home Troops

“WSF is launching a recruitment campaign next week.”

Many comments are posted with the above article.

More than three years back:

June 30, 2020 at 5:43 pm PDT
By Ryan Simms, KIRO 7 News video:

Ferry wait times spike following staff shortages

“This is not a normal year. … I think we can all agree on that, and people shouldn’t expect this to be normal ferry service,” noted Ian Sterling, Washington State Ferries.

“Ahead of the Fourth of July period, ferry workers are already warning passengers the wait this weekend could exceed four hours.”

Love to see newspeople ask:

How has the greater maritime industry dealt with COVID crewing challenges?

How have various industries and public agencies handled this?

Airlines? US Navy? FedEx? UPS? local fire dept?

 

Here at Oak Bay Starfish, we have been posting Re: WA State Ferries for years. A favorite story was the auto tollbooth upgrade at Mukilteo. Here is what we found on the web:

Photo source/credit: Washington State Ferries

Click image once or twice to show detail.

Dec 29, 2020 The Everett Herald

New Mukilteo ferry terminal makes a much anticipated debut

“The $187 million project, which opened Tuesday evening, replaces a 63-year-old terminal nearby.”

We grabbed a camera and headed over to the Keystone ferry terminal. We knew what we would find:

We asked:

If the style of tollbooth used at Port Townsend and Keystone gets the job done, why the upgrade at Mukilteo?

The stripped down design seems cost effective?

Original blog: Auto Tollbooth Upgrade At Mukilteo

Related:

Newspeople Avoid Questions – WSF Security

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo at top of page- Keystone ferry inbound

Coupeville/Penn Cove is on the eastern shore of Whidbey Island-no ferry link to Port Townsend exists there.