Washington State Ferries is planning to increase ferry fares by 4% this fall, but the department is still deciding on who should shoulder the burden.
In search of an answer to that, Washington State Transportation Commission is now surveying passengers.
The increase could impact walk-on passengers differently than drivers; not all routes will necessarily see a price surge.
The response to the pending fare increase varies depending on who you ask.
Randy Bushman from Sequim uses the Edmonds-Kingston route about once every week. He’s not sweating a four percent change.
“It’s not much, not much at all,” said Bushman. “Cost of going over on a ferry boat is reasonable I think at current rates.”
In contrast, some commuters that rely on the Mukilteo-Clinton route daily were more hesitant.
Monica Vaughn lives in Clinton but works on the west side. To save money she scooters to and from two cars. One is parked near the landing in Clinton, the other is parked near the landing in Mukilteo. Vaughn thinks the new sky bridge has made a world of difference on her route, but she’s sick of schedule delays.
“During the holidays they don’t have enough staff,” said Vaughn. “I wake up in the morning, I go to get on the boat and I see that there’s a notification that we’re down a boat because they didn’t have the staffing.”
Washington’s maritime workforce is stretched thin, many are leaving the ferry system for retirement.
John Vezina, Director of Government Relations for WSF says they’re spending $93,000 from the legislature to address that growing labor gap.
During a meeting with the Washington Transportation Commission Tuesday, Vezina said that money will be used to secure housing for trainees.
f someone lives in Wenatchee but has training in Anacortes, WSF can cover the cost of hotel accommodations.
©2023 Cox Media Group
