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Post by SS San Mateo on Mar 9, 2020 10:14:44 GMT -8
There's a change to the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth Schedule starting April 3rd...
Starting on April 3rd, all customers on the 9:30 p.m. sailing from Southworth to Fauntleroy will switch to a different vessel when they arrive in Vashon Island Friday evenings with the start of the spring schedule.
• Walk-on passengers will exit the vessel they arrived on and briefly wait at the Vashon terminal before boarding their new vessel.
• Passengers driving aboard will be directed off the boat by terminal staff and re-positioned before boarding the new boat.
• Once aboard, crews will then load all Fauntleroy-bound Vashon customers before departing for Fauntleroy.
• Late night sailings have shifted 5 to 10 minutes later to allow time to switch boats and still stay on time.
This adjustment allows WSF to take the first boat out of service sooner, giving crews more time to perform needed maintenance and avoid service disruptions. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we work to maintain our fleet.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Mar 13, 2020 18:19:32 GMT -8
Will Washington State Ferries suspend the international route due Coronavirus?
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Post by Cascadian Transport on Mar 13, 2020 18:55:32 GMT -8
Will Washington State Ferries suspend the international route due Coronavirus? There's no knowing at this point. I have heard some rumblings to that effect, but nothing official. The only thing that I'm certain of at this point with the COVID-19 crisis is that we can't be certain of anything. This is an unprecedented situation that will continue to evolve, and WSF, along with everyone else, will need to continue to respond accordingly. That could mean some service reductions in the coming days/weeks.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Mar 13, 2020 19:35:22 GMT -8
Will Washington State Ferries suspend the international route due Coronavirus? There's no knowing at this point. I have heard some rumblings to that effect, but nothing official. The only thing that I'm certain of at this point with the COVID-19 crisis is that we can't be certain of anything. This is an unprecedented situation that will continue to evolve, and WSF, along with everyone else, will need to continue to respond accordingly. That could mean some service reductions in the coming days/weeks. News from Sidney reported that the Mayor wants to resume service beyond the original start date of March 29 but they did not specify a specific date or time to which they want to postpone. Service is free to start whenever since the Chelan will still be in Anacortes at the time.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Mar 13, 2020 20:16:05 GMT -8
There's no knowing at this point. I have heard some rumblings to that effect, but nothing official. The only thing that I'm certain of at this point with the COVID-19 crisis is that we can't be certain of anything. This is an unprecedented situation that will continue to evolve, and WSF, along with everyone else, will need to continue to respond accordingly. That could mean some service reductions in the coming days/weeks. News from Sidney reported that the Mayor wants to resume service beyond the original start date of March 29 but they did not specify a specific date or time to which they want to postpone. Service is free to start whenever since the Chelan will still be in Anacortes at the time. I personally think that the route should suspend for a couple a months until Canadian Government or British Columbia Government say it ok to go outside of Canada again. When do do you think the Washington State Ferries suspend the route?
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Mar 13, 2020 23:30:00 GMT -8
News from Sidney reported that the Mayor wants to resume service beyond the original start date of March 29 but they did not specify a specific date or time to which they want to postpone. Service is free to start whenever since the Chelan will still be in Anacortes at the time. I personally think that the route should suspend for a couple a months until Canadian Government or British Columbia Government say it ok to go outside of Canada again. When do do you think the Washington State Ferries suspend the route? The mayor of Victoria wants the Sidney service cut for the time being; their original start date was planned for March 29.
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Post by Mike C on Apr 3, 2020 22:07:18 GMT -8
Hi everyone, this will be the thread used for COVID-19 discussion at WSF.
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Post by iceberg1 on Apr 4, 2020 6:20:21 GMT -8
Starting Friday, April 3, Washington State Ferries will recognize people on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response with three prolonged blasts (4-6 seconds) of the ship’s whistle on all vessels that are underway at 8 p.m. nightly through Thursday, April 30.
Shipboard announcement prior: “Attention all passengers, as part of a worldwide movement to make a joyful noise in appreciation of workers on the front line of the COVID-19 response – all our ferries at sea are sounding their whistles at 8 o’clock each evening to recognize essential employees. This includes first responders, healthcare workers, our crews and staff here at Washington State Ferries, plus many more. Please join us in thanking all frontline workers for their service!”
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Apr 4, 2020 9:48:26 GMT -8
Current WSF service reductions as of April 4, 2020 are: - All routes continue to operate on the Winter 2020 schedule through at least April 26th - Seattle/Bainbridge & Bremerton will operate with one-boat service - Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth will operate with two-boat schedule - Mukilteo/Clinton, Edmonds/Kingston, Seattle/Bainbrdige, Seattle/Bremerton and FVS will have late night sailing cancellations until further notice. - Service to Sidney, B.C. is suspended through at least April 26th.
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Post by Kahloke on Apr 4, 2020 13:01:34 GMT -8
Washington State Ferries doesn't appear to be cutting service quite as much as BCF did, though that could change the longer this lock-down drags on. I can potentially see Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton dropping to a single vessel just like SEA-BRE and SEA-BAI. And, I wouldn't be surprised to see Anacortes-San Juans go down to 3 vessels by making the weekend winter schedule daily.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Apr 4, 2020 13:53:34 GMT -8
Washington State Ferries doesn't appear to be cutting service quite as much as BCF did, though that could change the longer this lock-down drags on. I can potentially see Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton dropping to a single vessel just like SEA-BRE and SEA-BAI. And, I wouldn't be surprised to see Anacortes-San Juans go down to 3 vessels by making the weekend winter schedule daily. I was told WSF doesn't want to cut Edmonds to one boat because they want to maintain critical service levels to the Olympic Peninsula. Same goes for Mukilteo as well.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Apr 4, 2020 15:20:42 GMT -8
Washington State Ferries doesn't appear to be cutting service quite as much as BCF did, though that could change the longer this lock-down drags on. I can potentially see Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton dropping to a single vessel just like SEA-BRE and SEA-BAI. And, I wouldn't be surprised to see Anacortes-San Juans go down to 3 vessels by making the weekend winter schedule daily. I was told WSF doesn't want to cut Edmonds to one boat because they want to maintain critical service levels to the Olympic Peninsula. Same goes for Mukilteo as well. But is there a bridge that could provide alternative to Whitby Island?
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Apr 4, 2020 16:04:06 GMT -8
I was told WSF doesn't want to cut Edmonds to one boat because they want to maintain critical service levels to the Olympic Peninsula. Same goes for Mukilteo as well. But is there a bridge that could provide alternative to Whitby Island? Technically yes, but not quick enough should a major emergency arise that requires the ferry.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Apr 4, 2020 16:09:52 GMT -8
But is there a bridge that could provide alternative to Whitby Island? Technically yes, but not quick enough should a major emergency arise that requires the ferry. Couldn’t they just delay or reroute the ferry if that happens? Don’t see why that requires two boats in service in this weird year.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Apr 4, 2020 17:08:49 GMT -8
Technically yes, but not quick enough should a major emergency arise that requires the ferry. Couldn’t they just delay or reroute the ferry if that happens? Don’t see why that requires two boats in service in this weird year. I think its about service consistency at a suitable rate to emergency services that need the ferry. If they show up too late for the hourly ferry, that's just unacceptable to have to wait for 50 minutes.
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Post by Mike C on Apr 4, 2020 19:10:45 GMT -8
Washington State Ferries doesn't appear to be cutting service quite as much as BCF did, though that could change the longer this lock-down drags on. I can potentially see Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton dropping to a single vessel just like SEA-BRE and SEA-BAI. And, I wouldn't be surprised to see Anacortes-San Juans go down to 3 vessels by making the weekend winter schedule daily. I would hypothesize that WSF’s higher passenger loads and passenger demand overall make service cuts a bit trickier than BCF in order to maintain physical distancing on board. I know that this is something that we’ve been trying to figure out on the transit side - basically how to manage capacity in a way that allows for six feet of separation at any given time. Certainly a whole different set of challenges than anything any transportation agency has ever worked through.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Apr 4, 2020 19:45:49 GMT -8
Washington State Ferries doesn't appear to be cutting service quite as much as BCF did, though that could change the longer this lock-down drags on. I can potentially see Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton dropping to a single vessel just like SEA-BRE and SEA-BAI. And, I wouldn't be surprised to see Anacortes-San Juans go down to 3 vessels by making the weekend winter schedule daily. I would hypothesize that WSF’s higher passenger loads and passenger demand overall make service cuts a bit trickier than BCF in order to maintain physical distancing on board. I know that this is something that we’ve been trying to figure out on the transit side - basically how to manage capacity in a way that allows for six feet of separation at any given time. Certainly a whole different set of challenges than anything any transportation agency has ever worked through. Since Mukilteo is mainly cars, I think they have a less tricky a situation to work through, but since majority of Bainbridge and Bremerton traffic comes via walk-ons, I imagine that's exactly why the Kaleetan and Wenatchee remain assigned to their respective routes compared to the Walla Walla or an Issaquah: there's just more cabin space and that is definitely a necessity right now, counter-intuitively.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Apr 6, 2020 12:04:34 GMT -8
Turns out that both the Yakima and Wenatchee will be operating the Bainbridge route in turn, with the boats switching around every 3 days, per WSF. Interesting of note that this doesn't always line up with the weekends and that those working on the weekdays could still get lucky with a Yakima trip to Bainbridge
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Post by Kahloke on Apr 9, 2020 19:42:07 GMT -8
I guess this is more in response to Samish's unscheduled breakdown rather than COVID, but the new schedule for the San Juans is now available on the WSF website. They are going to 3 vessels for the weekday schedule, and 2 vessels on Saturday and Sunday, until April 25, at least. Beyond that, I guess they will re-evaluate. The boats are Chelan, Kitsap, and Tillikum (weekdays), and just Chelan and Kitsap on the weekends. The COVID connection to this news is the down-grade in service. If it weren't for this disease and the restrictions brought on by it, we would, of course, be on the normal spring schedule, and WSF would be scrambling to replace Samish to maintain service. www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/ScheduleDetailByRoute.aspx?schedrouteid=1894&_ga=2.73100627.1989803992.1586465967-880318523.1576898216
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Post by SS San Mateo on Apr 10, 2020 15:15:09 GMT -8
And the winter schedule is extended even further...
ALL ROUTES: Winter Sailing Schedule Extended Through June 20
Washington State Ferries is extending the winter sailing schedule through June 20 because of a continued decline in ridership due to COVID-19. It was previously scheduled to end on April 25. Therefore, customers should continue following the winter schedule through at least June 20. Routes that are on a modified/reduced service schedule will remain on those schedules until further notice.
Reservation routes
All vehicle reservations for the Port Townsend/Coupeville and Anacortes/San Juan Islands/Sidney, B.C. routes that were booked on dates between April 26 and June 20 will automatically be cancelled. Customers still looking to travel during those dates will need to rebook new reservations based on the extended winter sailing schedule. Because WSF will need to reprogram its reservations system, it will take a few days for those extended winter season reservations to be available. WSF will notify all customers as soon as they are able to rebook their travel.
International service to and from Sidney, B.C. is cancelled until at least June 21, and customers will not be able to rebook those trips.
Even without reservations, all passengers seeking to travel should be able to do so due to declines in ridership, which increases the amount of available standby space.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Apr 10, 2020 17:20:32 GMT -8
And the winter schedule is extended even further... ALL ROUTES: Winter Sailing Schedule Extended Through June 20I wonder if Spring schedule is now effective cancelled, summer schedule will come into effect right away. Will summer schedule be different this year compared to other years?
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Post by Kahloke on Apr 10, 2020 19:22:32 GMT -8
And the winter schedule is extended even further... ALL ROUTES: Winter Sailing Schedule Extended Through June 20I wonder if Spring schedule is now effective cancelled, summer schedule will come into effect right away. Will summer schedule be different this year compared to other years? That will, of course, depend on what travel restrictions are still in place at the end of June. Will the US/Canada border still be closed? At this point, who knows, but if there are still restrictions in place, it is logical to assume that this year's summer schedule will be different than in the past.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Apr 14, 2020 21:41:32 GMT -8
I wonder if Spring schedule is now effective cancelled, summer schedule will come into effect right away. Will summer schedule be different this year compared to other years? That will, of course, depend on what travel restrictions are still in place at the end of June. Will the US/Canada border still be closed? At this point, who knows, but if there are still restrictions in place, it is logical to assume that this year's summer schedule will be different than in the past. It seems like Washington State Ferries will be changing the summer schedule.
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Post by Barnacle on Apr 16, 2020 5:37:23 GMT -8
That will, of course, depend on what travel restrictions are still in place at the end of June. Will the US/Canada border still be closed? At this point, who knows, but if there are still restrictions in place, it is logical to assume that this year's summer schedule will be different than in the past. It seems like Washington State Ferries will be changing the summer schedule. No guarantees in any direction at this time. Too much uncertainty, too many variables in the equation. But at least I heard the repairs were going well on the Samish... got to scope out the installation process yesterday.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on May 21, 2020 15:41:19 GMT -8
I wonder if WSF will even operate Sidney route this year because of border being closed to non essential travel.
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