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Post by Mike C on Mar 18, 2020 14:04:14 GMT -8
What has happened with the Chimacum and Chetzemoka? What has happened to asking questions with context and purpose? We need more information on what you’re asking. Additionally, before posting about this again, I suggest taking a look in the Chetzemoka and Chimacum threads, and also Google is a shocking wealth of information.
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Post by withtheferries on Mar 18, 2020 14:29:23 GMT -8
What has happened with the Chimacum and Chetzemoka? Chimacum is getting warranty repair work done at Vigor in Seattle; Chetzemoka is getting a Coast Guard inspection and general maintenance at Eagle Harbor. Alr thanks for ansering.
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Post by Cascadian Transport on Jul 1, 2020 18:02:00 GMT -8
Yesterday, I attended WSF's community engagement webinar. Several members of WSF's management team were on hand to deliver a presentation and a Q&A session to update folks about the state of affairs at the ferry system, and to shed some light on some of the developments and challenges that have been facing the agency.
To start off, WSF has recently been highlighting their "four pillars" of what is needed to operate their fleet, and a large part of the meeting was dedicated to explaining these four pillars and how they have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each pillar was discussed in detail during the meeting, and I will attempt to summarize below.
Pillar #1: Demand Demand for ferry travel bottomed out in March, dropping to numbers that haven't been seen since the 1950s. Since then, demand has slowly been on the uptick, however, system-wide average daily ridership remains significantly lower than it was in January/early Feb., which is normally the slowest part of the year. (I forget off the top of my head how much lower it is currently- I believe I heard 40%, please don't quote me on that.). These historically low ridership numbers translate to far less money coming in at the farebox, which normally covers around 70% of WSF's operating expenses.
Pillar #2: Crew Availability It's no secret that WSF is suffering a severe crew shortage right now. Over 150 crew members system-wide are considered high-risk individuals and cannot work on board the vessels. Additionally, WSF is lacking new recruits- ordinarily hiring happens in the winter, with new crew members being trained in the spring and trickling into the system in the late spring and early summer. In a normal year, about 600 new crew members are introduced into the system. This year, only a small fraction of that was hired before the hiring freeze took effect, and training has been severely delayed by the pandemic. All of this is being further exacerbated by union-required vacation time: apparently a very large number of crew members deferred their vacation in March and April and are now being forced to use their days. All of this means that July will be the worst month for crew availability, however, most of the new crew members that did get hired should finish their training and be ready to start on board the vessels in early August, which should bring some relief then.
Pillar #3: Vessel Availability Eagle Harbor was forced to shut down for weeks during the pandemic. Supply chains were interrupted. Coast Guard Inspectors were unable to inspect vessels in person. As of this time, of the 21 vessels in the fleet, 14 are in active service, two others are on standby, the rest are inoperable as WSF works to catch up on maintenance.
Pillar #4: Budget Boat. B.O.A.T. - Break Out Another Thousand. ...If only the ferry system had an extra thousand laying around right now... Ticket Sales. Gas Tax. Those are two of WSF's biggest sources of funding, and people are spending a lot less money right now on both of those items. WSF has taken a huge hit and the financial resources needed to restore full service simply aren't there right now.
All told, the current situation is one of uncertainty. But these are the constraints the system faces at this time.
===== Some other information to note:
>The Mukilteo Ferry Terminal has been slightly delayed by the pandemic, expected opening as of this time is January 2021. >The Colman Dock Project remains on track to be completed in 2023. >The keel of Olympic #5 will be lain in early 2021. >The commencement of the Fauntleroy Terminal Replacement Project is on the not-to distant horizon, public engagement is expected to begin "as soon as reasonably possible"
>And, the bad news: With the damage that has been inflicted to the state transportation budget by the pandemic and 976, it is not unlikely that permanent cuts may be on the horizon. As to what those cuts may look like, well, nobody knows yet. But one can speculate. Take this with a grain of salt, but in the past when the budget has taken a hit, the first item proposed has been to axe the Sidney Route. I see no reason to suspect this time will be any different.
Final Thoughts: We are going through some very trying times right now, and this could unfortunately have long-term repercussions on the Washington State DOT. Things will get better. They Will. Eventually. But exactly how and when things will get better remains unknown.
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Post by compdude787 on Jul 2, 2020 16:22:10 GMT -8
Oh okay. This really helps explain the crew shortages that have been happening as of late.
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Post by avgeekjoe on Aug 29, 2020 11:00:38 GMT -8
It would not surprise me if the Anacortes-Sidney route ended up being privatized or preferably a public-private partnership. The state ferry system is just too financially constrained and needs a recapitalized fleet. The focus needs to be on domestic service, not premium service - and there is zero expectation of British Columbian or Canadian financial aid to prop up this run. Let's also remember the double whammy of 695 & the dot-com recession ended WSF passenger-only fast ferry services.
As I said earlier today, I'm also not terribly wild about the idea of a 30+ knot fast ferry blasting thru the San Juans. Frankly it'd have to go a sufficient distance around the San Juan Islands National Monument with all the wake wash the fast ferry kick up so where's the speed difference once the extra distance is added? I'm also sure the folks of Sidney, BC would really resent us Washingtonians having that fast ferry dock in Victoria, BC proper due to the detour also. Clipper Navigation has a lot of work to make the business case stack up. But I sure would love to ride the Victoria Clipper V one day...
So I sincerely hope this doesn't come to pass, but it would also not surprise me if there was no longer an Anacortes-Sidney route of any kind. I hope it doesn't happen but if we don't have sufficient vaccination by summer '21 - expect it.
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Post by Kahloke on Aug 29, 2020 11:31:00 GMT -8
It would not surprise me if the Anacortes-Sidney route ended up being privatized or preferably a public-private partnership. The state ferry system is just too financially constrained and needs a recapitalized fleet. The focus needs to be on domestic service, not premium service - and there is zero expectation of British Columbian or Canadian financial aid to prop up this run. Let's also remember the double whammy of 695 & the dot-com recession ended WSF passenger-only fast ferry services. As I said earlier today, I'm also not terribly wild about the idea of a 30+ knot fast ferry blasting thru the San Juans. Frankly it'd have to go a sufficient distance around the San Juan Islands National Monument with all the wake wash the fast ferry kick up so where's the speed difference once the extra distance is added? I'm also sure the folks of Sidney, BC would really resent us Washingtonians having that fast ferry dock in Victoria, BC proper due to the detour also. Clipper Navigation has a lot of work to make the business case stack up. But I sure would love to ride the Victoria Clipper V one day... So I sincerely hope this doesn't come to pass, but it would also not surprise me if there was no longer an Anacortes-Sidney route of any kind. I hope it doesn't happen but if we don't have sufficient vaccination by summer '21 - expect it. Frankly, it would not surprise me to see Anacortes-Sidney eliminated completely with NO replacement service, and Ancortes-San Juans go to 4-vessel service year round, with varying degrees of operating hours depending on the time of year. It seems like Sidney is low hanging fruit where budget cuts are concerned, as it is not essential service, and we desperately need boats in the domestic fleet; but this has been a highly politicized issue over the years, and that is why the service didn't get axed a long time ago. COVID may be what finally kills the route. We shall see.
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Post by avgeekjoe on Aug 29, 2020 14:11:40 GMT -8
Agreed, as much as I can't "like" that sentiment.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 11, 2020 7:09:40 GMT -8
This what the extreme budget cut look like Washington State Ferries: Found here. Only the reduce administrative should be the first one to do, then eliminated late night sailing because those cuts wouldn’t drastically hurt the fleet and could be added back for cheap in the future.
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Post by Kahloke on Sept 12, 2020 7:55:41 GMT -8
This what the extreme budget cut look like Washington State Ferries: Found here. Only the reduce administrative should be the first one to do, then eliminated late night sailing because those cuts wouldn’t drastically hurt the fleet and could be added back for cheap in the future. Interesting read (the article). It appears to be a worst-case-scenario plan. I think there is hope, and a good chance, that we can land somewhere north of these draconian cuts. Eliminating Southworth, for example: that's not going to happen, or shouldn't happen. Same with reducing Edmonds-Kingston and Seattle-Bainbridge to 1 vessel each. Naturally, I'm talking about post-COVID, not what we are enduring right now. On the surface, Sidney seems like low-hanging fruit, but again, I suspect that it won't go down without a fight. It's been saved before.
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Post by withtheferries on Sept 17, 2020 13:40:33 GMT -8
Hi, so I lost a Motorola portable radio exactly like the ferries, I have added pictures of it, and the info, if someone could please just be on a look out, this was very expensive(over $2,000) Dang! Thats quite the oof. I'll be on the lookout! Hopefully you find it!
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Post by withtheferries on Sept 17, 2020 15:26:20 GMT -8
Hi, so I lost a Motorola portable radio exactly like the ferries, I have added pictures of it, and the info, if someone could please just be on a look out, this was very expensive(over $2,000) Do you have any idea of where it could be? Chimacum? Wenatchee? Puyallup?
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Post by PNW_ferrynerd on Sept 17, 2020 16:20:51 GMT -8
IDK, It fell out of my Backpack on the Edmonds Kingston Route, so it could be on the boat or terminal, I have checked in several times, but nothing...
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Post by withtheferries on Sept 17, 2020 19:37:09 GMT -8
IDK, It fell out of my Backpack on the Edmonds Kingston Route, so it could be on the boat or terminal, I have checked in several times, but nothing... Damn dude, $2000.. I was on EDM-KINGSTON today and no sign of it. I hope your doing fine, i know parents can be harsh about losing things.
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Post by PNW_ferrynerd on Sept 17, 2020 21:40:13 GMT -8
IDK, It fell out of my Backpack on the Edmonds Kingston Route, so it could be on the boat or terminal, I have checked in several times, but nothing... Damn dude, $2000.. I was on EDM-KINGSTON today and no sign of it. I hope your doing fine, i know parents can be harsh about losing things. Lol, yep, their pretty mad at me
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Post by avgeekjoe on Sept 19, 2020 22:24:33 GMT -8
This what the extreme budget cut look like Washington State Ferries: Found here. Only the reduce administrative should be the first one to do, then eliminated late night sailing because those cuts wouldn’t drastically hurt the fleet and could be added back for cheap in the future. Interesting read (the article). It appears to be a worst-case-scenario plan. I think there is hope, and a good chance, that we can land somewhere north of these draconian cuts. Eliminating Southworth, for example: that's not going to happen, or shouldn't happen. Same with reducing Edmonds-Kingston and Seattle-Bainbridge to 1 vessel each. Naturally, I'm talking about post-COVID, not what we are enduring right now. On the surface, Sidney seems like low-hanging fruit, but again, I suspect that it won't go down without a fight. It's been saved before. I hope this is a worst-case plan also and something WSF would only do if defunded. I also hope my good acquaintance Assistant Secretary Scarton hands in her resignation if ordered to do this, the way another bad-azz female leader did in Seattle this summer. I do agree with the WSF staff that the fleet needs to get younger in average age and have backup boats. But dramatically eliminating service is not the answer. I hope my fellow forum members will please reach out to state legislators... With that, I really think without the state legislature passing a revenue package for WSF or a serious public-private partnership proposal; Anacortes-Sidney will be the first to go. There is quite the discussion on that route's forum. Finally, it is a sad commentary that we're having this discussion while BC Ferries on the 18th of September got financial aid to cover this year & next. Helps when the Premier and Transport Minister depend on BCFerries as they live on Vancouver Island. But WSF? Oh no... staring at the abyss. We can do better.
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Post by Starsteward on Sept 20, 2020 12:07:22 GMT -8
Interesting read (the article). It appears to be a worst-case-scenario plan. I think there is hope, and a good chance, that we can land somewhere north of these draconian cuts. Eliminating Southworth, for example: that's not going to happen, or shouldn't happen. Same with reducing Edmonds-Kingston and Seattle-Bainbridge to 1 vessel each. Naturally, I'm talking about post-COVID, not what we are enduring right now. On the surface, Sidney seems like low-hanging fruit, but again, I suspect that it won't go down without a fight. It's been saved before. I hope this is a worst-case plan also and something WSF would only do if defunded. I also hope my good acquaintance Assistant Secretary Scarton hands in her resignation if ordered to do this, the way another bad-azz female leader did in Seattle this summer. I do agree with the WSF staff that the fleet needs to get younger in average age and have backup boats. But dramatically eliminating service is not the answer. I hope my fellow forum members will please reach out to state legislators... With that, I really think without the state legislature passing a revenue package for WSF or a serious public-private partnership proposal; Anacortes-Sidney will be the first to go. There is quite the discussion on that route's forum. Finally, it is a sad commentary that we're having this discussion while BC Ferries on the 18th of September got financial aid to cover this year & next. Helps when the Premier and Transport Minister depend on BCFerries as they live on Vancouver Island. But WSF? Oh no... staring at the abyss. We can do better. The last paragraph of your above posting is inaccurate, non-sensical, and frankly offensive. I suggest you go back and do your homework on how the Government of Canada has handled a multitude of financial aid packages for air, land and sea transportation companies across Canada. So sorry we couldn't funnel a few bucks to WSF, and maybe a few seventy-five cent Canuck bucks to our pals at Black Ball to keep the 'Coho' afloat, but there's this line called the '49th'...Sorry
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Post by avgeekjoe on Sept 20, 2020 12:28:39 GMT -8
I hope this is a worst-case plan also and something WSF would only do if defunded. I also hope my good acquaintance Assistant Secretary Scarton hands in her resignation if ordered to do this, the way another bad-azz female leader did in Seattle this summer. I do agree with the WSF staff that the fleet needs to get younger in average age and have backup boats. But dramatically eliminating service is not the answer. I hope my fellow forum members will please reach out to state legislators... With that, I really think without the state legislature passing a revenue package for WSF or a serious public-private partnership proposal; Anacortes-Sidney will be the first to go. There is quite the discussion on that route's forum. Finally, it is a sad commentary that we're having this discussion while BC Ferries on the 18th of September got financial aid to cover this year & next. Helps when the Premier and Transport Minister depend on BCFerries as they live on Vancouver Island. But WSF? Oh no... staring at the abyss. We can do better. The last paragraph of your above posting is inaccurate, non-sensical, and frankly offensive. I suggest you go back and do your homework on how the Government of Canada has handled a multitude of financial aid packages for air, land and sea transportation companies across Canada. So sorry we couldn't funnel a few bucks to WSF, and maybe a few seventy-five cent Canuck bucks to our pals at Black Ball to keep the 'Coho' afloat, but there's this line called the '49th'...Sorry No, I should be sorry. I'm not asking you or BC to help bail out the MV Coho. I may at some point join in the ask BC to help bail out WSF Anacortes-Sidney run, we shall see. My intent was to insult my home state of Washington and the weak sauce politicians we have here who talk about climate change and then don't invest in addressing it. The "We" in we can do better was "We Washingtonians". I am truly, sincerely sorry if any Canadian felt insulted and I hope my sincere apology can please be accepted.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Sept 20, 2020 18:08:59 GMT -8
The last paragraph of your above posting is inaccurate, non-sensical, and frankly offensive. I suggest you go back and do your homework on how the Government of Canada has handled a multitude of financial aid packages for air, land and sea transportation companies across Canada. So sorry we couldn't funnel a few bucks to WSF, and maybe a few seventy-five cent Canuck bucks to our pals at Black Ball to keep the 'Coho' afloat, but there's this line called the '49th'...Sorry No, I should be sorry. I'm not asking you or BC to help bail out the MV Coho. I may at some point join in the ask BC to help bail out WSF Anacortes-Sidney run, we shall see. My intent was to insult my home state of Washington and the weak sauce politicians we have here who talk about climate change and then don't invest in addressing it. The "We" in we can do better was "We Washingtonians". I am truly, sincerely sorry if any Canadian felt insulted and I hope my sincere apology can please be accepted. Actually, while I'm usually onside with Starsteward's postings, I have to disagree with him on this. I didn't see anything in your post that was a knock on BC or Canada. And it may well be that our current government is more cognizant of the importance of BC Ferries, given where John Horgan lives. That's a good thing, when you look at the borderline contempt that was given to the operation by the previous Liberal government.
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Post by withtheferries on Sept 21, 2020 15:14:09 GMT -8
Erm, windstorm later this week. Gona be a interesting one!
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Post by Starsteward on Sept 21, 2020 15:44:27 GMT -8
No, I should be sorry. I'm not asking you or BC to help bail out the MV Coho. I may at some point join in the ask BC to help bail out WSF Anacortes-Sidney run, we shall see. My intent was to insult my home state of Washington and the weak sauce politicians we have here who talk about climate change and then don't invest in addressing it. The "We" in we can do better was "We Washingtonians". I am truly, sincerely sorry if any Canadian felt insulted and I hope my sincere apology can please be accepted. Actually, while I'm usually onside with Starsteward's postings, I have to disagree with him on this. I didn't see anything in your post that was a knock on BC or Canada. And it may well be that our current government is more cognizant of the importance of BC Ferries, given where John Horgan lives. That's a good thing, when you look at the borderline contempt that was given to the operation by the previous Liberal government. It's wonderful to see that differences of opinions can, in this forum at least, be acknowledged, and celebrated as freedom of speech should be!
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 23, 2020 19:00:06 GMT -8
Why is Jumbo Class on Seattle to Bainbridge Island? I am asking because they couldn’t normal keep the capacity on route.
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Post by withtheferries on Sept 24, 2020 10:03:20 GMT -8
Why is Jumbo Class on Seattle to Bainbridge Island? I am asking because they couldn’t normal keep the capacity on route. Spokane is on the BBI route because the Tacoma is out for repairs.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 24, 2020 11:05:30 GMT -8
Why is Jumbo Class on Seattle to Bainbridge Island? I am asking because they couldn’t normal keep the capacity on route. Spokane is on the BBI route because the Tacoma is out for repairs. But they usually send down Puyallup while Tacoma or Wenatchee are taken out service.
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Post by Elwha on the Rocks on Sept 24, 2020 12:33:37 GMT -8
Spokane is on the BBI route because the Tacoma is out for repairs. But they usually send down Puyallup while Tacoma or Wenatchee are taken out service. I believe that Spokane is due to go out for maintenance soon, so she's likely subbing for the Tacoma just for the convenience and cost factor. When Tacoma gets back it will be easy to swap with Spokane as opposed to running the Puyallup to Kingston and bringing the Spokane down. With foot traffic levels down they don't really need the extra space of a Mark II at the moment.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Sept 24, 2020 19:27:20 GMT -8
Spokane is on the BBI route because the Tacoma is out for repairs. But they usually send down Puyallup while Tacoma or Wenatchee are taken out service. Tacoma will be back in service next Thursday. Unsure as to what will happen with the Spokane afterwards.
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