Frustrated riders demand answers to ongoing ferry problems
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SEATTLE -- There are serious problems under the surface of the most graceful commute in western Washington.
More than 50 sailings missed in less than five months -- the product of staffing errors and workers not showing up. A captain who slept on board a boat delayed a trip last week.
Those on Whidbey Island are fed up.
"If one person is late, or falls asleep or doesn't make it, that's it. We sit on the dock," said Cynthia Campbell.
Thursday night, the ferry system came to Whidbey to hear from riders. Ferries leader David Moseley was candid about the lack of resources to combat the problems.
"Human error does happen. And it's gonna happen," Moseley said. "There's no free lunch here, folks. There has got to be a new transportation package."
Moseley explained that a change in taxes in the late nineties took a quarter of the budget away from ferries. Fuel costs have tripled in the time since, compounding the problem. And, on top of all that, the staffing problems persist.
Scott Rogan-Levine says it's absurd that a simple sick call, either as protest over wages or actual illness, can devastate commuters.
"How many times on your way to work is the highway just closed down because employees just don't want you to use it?" he said.
Even if you never set foot on a ferry, you're still paying for the problems. Budget problems forced the state to tap into highway improvement funds to subsidize the ferries. Money meant to fix rough roads instead pays to smooth the rough ride from the islands.
A problem that gives even the most beautiful commute an ugly side.
More than 50 sailings missed in less than five months -- the product of staffing errors and workers not showing up. A captain who slept on board a boat delayed a trip last week.
Those on Whidbey Island are fed up.
"If one person is late, or falls asleep or doesn't make it, that's it. We sit on the dock," said Cynthia Campbell.
Thursday night, the ferry system came to Whidbey to hear from riders. Ferries leader David Moseley was candid about the lack of resources to combat the problems.
"Human error does happen. And it's gonna happen," Moseley said. "There's no free lunch here, folks. There has got to be a new transportation package."
Moseley explained that a change in taxes in the late nineties took a quarter of the budget away from ferries. Fuel costs have tripled in the time since, compounding the problem. And, on top of all that, the staffing problems persist.
Scott Rogan-Levine says it's absurd that a simple sick call, either as protest over wages or actual illness, can devastate commuters.
"How many times on your way to work is the highway just closed down because employees just don't want you to use it?" he said.
Even if you never set foot on a ferry, you're still paying for the problems. Budget problems forced the state to tap into highway improvement funds to subsidize the ferries. Money meant to fix rough roads instead pays to smooth the rough ride from the islands.
A problem that gives even the most beautiful commute an ugly side.
The water taxi from W. Seattle seemed to be a lot more reliable when it was not run by the state. Â
@KRM66 When was it run by the state? Maybe back in the 1800's or early 1900's, but in current times it's always been operated by King County.
Well until the state figures out how to not be held hostage by state union workers I strongly suggest folks living on a island to oh I don't know move off the island to a place where they do not have to depend on the ferries as it is only going to get worse.
I live on Vashon Island. If the people complaining about the ferry system did not vote to Cut the license tab fee (which provided significant support to the ferries) or protest increasing ferry fares (the only source of funds left) I'll be very sympathetic to their complaints.
You'd think the crews would be motivated to make the sailings... Sounds (feels) like they are doing the opposite. "Union Made" used to mean something, no? Why would you staff to the minimum without a contingency plan in place to get a deck hand or officer in place if needed to make the schedule? Obviously we have politics at play and no pride in having/doing a good job.
I say sell it to a private company and let them deal with the usless unions.
Let's expand our vocabulary today to describe the WA State Ferry System - ineffectual, uncaring, inept, irresponsible, bungling, moronic, unaccountable, thieves, liars, dishonest. Join in the game to add your words of the day!
Clean slate, Fire Hammond and Mosely.
I have a NOVEL idea. Make the Ferry riders pay the REAL cost of the ferry system and stop thestate subsidies. Get rid of the ferry system union and pay the workers MARKET value and hire more of them. Problem fixed. Next.
@scared_citizen
One little problem with passengers paying the âreal costâ, it would be followed with demands that all users of public transportation pay their fair share.  Good bye busses and the little toy railway. Â
 @scared_citizen as soon as you pay full value for your highway.
@scared_citizen I totally agree to your suggestions. I believe that the USER should pay for most of the cost of the service. Also, hire individuals that really want to work, not individuals that think it is a union privilege to work.
So you want the state to create toll roads. What a great idea!
 @scared_citizen I have a NOVEL idea. get the WSDOT to have YOU pay the REAL cost of driving on our streets and roads...
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oh wait a sec... you don't want to pay taxes for what you get from the state. lil timmie is your god. drones contribute more to society than you. you are a taker, not a producer. the word "constructive" isn't part of your vocabulary... and lastly, you're posting from your mommie's basement.
 @scared_citizen It's actually not novel at all... it's been done before. The fascists eliminated workers unions in Germany in the 1930s
Don't be fooled. A transportation package and it's huge tax increase will not solve this problem. We cannot continue to be held hostage to the unions. These missed sailings are clearly a union action and the state continues to do nothing about it. Until this is solved, vote no on any transportation tax increase.
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Moseley, quit blaming I-695. The legislature and yourself have had 12 years to prioritize state funding to support the ferries. What you have done is increase fares to 60% of the cost and still complain you can't afford the other 40%. Maybe you should scale back some of the huge gold plated projects and fully fund the ferry system instead.
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Let's hope Inslee fires Moseley.
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Unions eventually kill their own industries except when it exists in a government entity. The meeting should have included the head of the union to answer questions about how their members are being managed and disciplined.
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 I asked that question at last night's meeting. I think a union rep should accompany Moseley on these fact finding meetings. I'd like to hear their answers to why union members can behave like that and get away with it. The employees work for us-the taxpayer.
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@jase Actually, unions are killing government operations also. Problem with government entities, they will not close operations, but instead increase their revenues (taxes) to cover the additional expenses (part being wages and benefits).
 @jase oh, and one other thing.... you are a paid tool for somebody else...
 @jase several things are clear from your post. You don't work for a living. You hate working people. And you have absolutely no idea what unions actually do for workers, whether public or private.
 @jase beware those who beat the anti-union drum, as the fascists did in Europe in the 1930's
c'mon now. We pay 15% of the actual cost of a fare and we demand to know what's going on
Are there no procedures to follow up on these call outs or are they just so short staffed they need to do hiring, if an entire run is canceled because one person calls out then you are short staffed.
@NWwonder The real question is why are they short staffed. The best answer is that the ferry workers union has driven up the cost of staffing that they cant properly staff. The answers are harsh. Get rid of the union, pay market value for labor, hire more people and make the ferry riders pay the REAL cost of THEIR trip (why expect me to subsidize their trip?).
 @scared_citizen  @NWwonderÂ
The ferry system is PART OF THE HIGHWAY system. MY taxes help pay for roads in eastern Washington that I will never drive on and that's okay by me..
Well you dont pay the FULL cost of the roads and bridges you drive on either...thousands of others help subsidize the costs of providing the infrastructure that you use every day. Ferries are an extension of the highway system in this state, therefore we all share in the costs of operating and maintaining them.
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We USED to have private enterprise running the boats...Remember the Black Ball Line/Puget Sound Navigation Company? And what broke that? Go do some reading.
They want answers? Heck - they and every other taxpayer should share in the outrage that the state let the overall condition of the ferry system go to pot in the first place.Â
Between the scandals, the aging & depleting fleet the state has just about NEVER prepared adequately for in its history, and the overall negligence in failing prioritize the ferry system (it IS part of the region we live in - regardless of how people feel personally about islanders) - people have a lot to complain about. Â
@Throbbinhood Sigh, there are more than just islands that are serviced by the ferry system.... peninsula..... NOT surrounded by water...
@TheBronze And they should ALL pay the REAL cost of THIER ferry trip and stop expecting the rest of us to subsiize them.
@Throbbinhood Most of the state does not care about the state of WSF. I-695 took a huge amount of money from the ferry system. So when they raise the prices to help reel in the problems, are you going to have a problem with that?Â
Doesn't matter what you or me thinks. Bottom Line: Its the State's responsibility to take care of it - not ours to figure it out for them.Â
Their job - not ours.
Build a tunnel intead of wasting all that money on the undergound light rail!!
While we are at it, lets address the plight of the drivers that are faced with navigating through the I405 parking lot from So King county to Bellevue that has never been expanded. This state is so poorly managed.Â
@Larrygg And yet the same idiotic 'leaders' keep getting elected over and over again...
Larry,
We have spent nearly a billion dollars expanding I-405. We are currently expanding I-405 between Bellevue and the Swamp Creek interchange. Go to the WSDOT website and search "NE6th Street to I-5 widening" or just search for 405 and you will find it.
WSDOTJamie
 @WSDOTJamie Jamie, you may not have noticed, but people aren't really into "facts" on these news forums. There are a lot of anti-government trolls wandering around using any and every article they can find to shout down government and unions. "Facts" have nothing to do with their rhetoric. Only uneducated or poorly misconstrued talking points they've heard/read from propaganda sources.
Um the problem is the riders don't want to pay for the service. That's it.
@Common Sense Really? My rates have almost tripled since 695 passed.
@TheBronze Get a job closer to home or move closer to work. Your choice, not mine.
who cares? if people want to live on their nice islands they can work on their nice islands. why should i have to pay for them to live cheaply? missed a trip? boo hoo.
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here's an idea: jack up the fares a bit so we can focus on improving roads where 99% of the population live and where ACTUAL commerce happens, and islanders can pay for their own system.
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some fun math for you: 240k people drive on i5 daily. 148k use i90. another 200k people use 520. even if every single ferry was filled to capacity bainbridge and bremerton would only have about 8000 total cars. so again who cares?
 @customerservice ever hear of PSNS? Hood canal fishery, State forestry lands?Â
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There is a lot of economy that happens via ferry.
 @customerservice Ok you idiot !!! You haven't done your homework have you. The state ferry system is part of the state freeway SYSTEM. You, I and everyone else in the state pays taxes to fund and maintain the roads in the state. so I have to pay to maintain your stinking road and still pay a fare to get across. How about we make YOUR road a toll road. Moron. People like me live here s owe don't have to live around short sighted uninformed nutjobs like you.Â
@David Barrow @customerservice Talk about not doing homework, maybe you should do some homework before you start calling people names. If you don't like the state of the WSF well then find a job near where you live because we have tolls we pay every day and there will be more tolls coming in the future. We are not crying and demanding that the people who ride the ferries pay an addtional tax to cover our tolls. They need to sperate the WSF so the majority of the state that does not use it, does not pay for it.
 @David Barrow Wow I am hurt by your personal insults. I would like to correct a few things about your argument (which, by the way, doesn't address anything I initially commented on but that's ok).
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1. "You haven't done your homework have you." is a question. I guess Bremerton High School doesn't teach English anymore.
2. Just because it is part of the state freeway SYSTEM doesn't mean I think it should be. It's a huge, unnecessary burden on the 90% of people that don't use the ferries.
3. I do pay a toll to get to my very high paying job in Seattle; the only difference is I don't complain about it like Ferry riders do. I recognize it is an expensive road to maintain and is used by millions of more people than the ferries are. I suck it up and pay the fee.
4. You display a lack of general knowledge about tolls. The whole point of tolls is that people who ACTUALLY USE THE ROAD PAY FOR IT.Â
@customerservice @TruthinAdverts @David Barrow Then you aren't in a high paying job.
@4ShotLatte @customerservice @David Barrow Problem is, the Bainbridge and Kingston runs DO pay for themselves. And the also subsidize the other runs. So, as stated above, us ferry riders are paying for oh, I dunno, 95% of the roads in this state that WE don't drive on, AND we're paying for the ferry. So step back and have a little rational perspective people...
 @TruthinAdverts  @David Barrow I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS.
 @customerservice  @David Barrow Your "very high paying job" in your "very expensive car" with your "very hot trophy wife".... dude... if you are going to sell it... SELL IT!
 @4ShotLatte  @David Barrow Can't disagree with that.
 @customerservice  @David Barrow The toll you are paying to cross 520 is not even close to enough to pay for the bridge. The gas tax that everyone pays is paying for the majority of the cost of the bridge being build, unlike the Narrows Bridge where they are collecting 4X the cost of building it in tolls. I think they should have the ferry fares raised enough to pay for themselves and the tolls on 520 raised to cover the total cost of building and maintaining the bridge. Then they should toll all the pass' to cover the expense of snow removal.