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Each January, there is a special edition recapping the previous year. View the 2023 Year in Review (PDF 4.7MB).

Here is the latest edition of the WSF Weekly Update:

Oct. 24, 2024

A message from Steve

Two years ago, when I was in my previous role of operations director, I was working in my garage just before Thanksgiving with the door open. I overheard two of my neighbors on the sidewalk just outside my house talking about their holiday plans. One of them mentioned that his daughter and grandkids live in Poulsbo, but said, “We’re not going over to see them this Thanksgiving because you just can’t trust the ferries.” Hearing that hit me hard. It was a stark reminder of the impact service disruptions have on the communities we serve. That moment has stayed with me, driving my commitment to restore reliable service and our push toward service excellence.

We’re proud to report that, for the first time since late 2021, we’ve gone four consecutive weeks without a single canceled sailing due to a shortage of crew. This is a significant milestone, especially considering our previous record in May was just seven days. While we’re encouraged by this progress, we know there is still work to be done. Four of our routes are not yet restored, and we will continue to see occasional service disruptions due to crew shortages. As we head into the holiday season, we remain committed to restoring full service and doing everything we can to minimize disruptions.

I extend a special thanks to our incredible crew dispatch team, who make hundreds of calls daily to ensure smooth operations, and our outstanding customer service team, who work tirelessly fielding customers’ calls and partnering with operations to resolve issues. Their hard work has been crucial as we’ve worked toward this milestone. Thank you to our crews, dispatchers, customer service agents and to all of you for your continued support as we strive to fully restore our services.

Winter vehicle reservations available 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29

Vehicle reservations for winter (Dec. 29 to March 22, 2025) on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes open at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29. Like summer and fall, we will be using a virtual waiting room to avoid website overload and ensure fair access during this busy time. If you are sent to the waiting room, you’ll see your place in line, estimated wait time and the option to get a notification when it’s your turn to book.

Vehicle reservations space on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route will increase after a year of being lowered due to crewing and vessel availability constraints. It will go up from 75% back to 90%, leaving 10% for standby. Of that 90%, 30% will be released on Oct. 29, another 30% at 7 a.m. two weeks before each specific sailing and the final 30% at 7 a.m. two days before. For our Port Townsend/Coupeville run, all vehicle reservations (80% of available space) will be released at 10 a.m. Oct. 29.

Bainbridge, Bremerton runs to share single dock space at Seattle terminal tomorrow, Oct. 25

Plan for possible additional delays on both our downtown Seattle routes from 7:30 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 25. During that time, all sailings to and from Bremerton and Bainbridge will share the southernmost pier, or slip one, at Colman Dock. Slip two will be closed for repairs and adjustments to one of its offshore navigational aids, or floating dolphins. Slip three has been out of commission since July as crews replace its vehicle transfer span, the part vehicles use to board and leave the ferry. That work should be done early next year.

Sounders flags to fly on downtown Seattle vessels Monday, Oct. 28

Congratulations to the Seattle Sounders FC for advancing to the Major League Soccer Playoffs! In honor of their success, we will fly the team flag Monday, Oct. 28, on all three ferries serving Colman Dock. That evening, the Sounders take on Houston Dynamo FC at Lumen Field in the first of a best-of-three series in round one. The two teams play in Houston Sunday, Nov. 3, then back in Seattle Sunday, Nov. 10, if necessary. 

Sailing stats for week of Oct. 14-20

For the week of Oct. 14-20, we completed 98.3% of our 2,787 scheduled sailings. Of our 48 cancellations, 35 were due to a vessel being out of service, six for tidal currents, six because of weather and one due to an emergency. As mentioned above, this is the fourth week in a row with no crewing-related cancellations.

Customer kudos

“Just wanted to throw a compliment towards a helpful ferry worker. A ticket seller, Mike? I think (Michael Sprague) helped me with my car battery, and went way beyond to make sure I got a tow truck. Thanks!”

-Seattle/Bainbridge route customer -Seattle/Bainbridge route customer

Steve Nevey
Assistant Secretary, WSDOT/Ferries Division