HomeMy WebLinkAbout061724 - WSF Weekly Service UpdateALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Good afternoon local and county officials of ferry-served communities:
Here is this week’s WSF service update.
Best,
Hadley
WSF Weekly Media Highlights
Port Townsend Leader interview with Assistant Secretary Nevey (attached).
Major Issues of the Week
This weekend we had several service disruptions due to crewing with the double challenge of filling relief requests on Father’s Day weekend and the start of the summer schedule. After
the previous week showing no cancellations due to crewing, this week several routes experienced them:
* Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth “Triangle” Route: Down to one-boat service on Friday night. On Saturday, one of the two boats was sailing at reduced capacity due to crewing.
* San Juan Islands Interisland Route: Out of service Saturday until it’s 5:45pm sailing.
* Port Townsend/Coupeville: Service on the route suspended Sunday until 2pm.
In addition to those cancellations due to crewing, there were two routes with cancelled sailings due to mechanical issues:
* Seattle/Bainbridge: The Tacoma, one of the two boats assigned to the route was out of service Saturday morning until 9:45am. The Chimacum, the other vessel assigned to the route,
was out of service Saturday evening from 4:30-8:55pm.
* Edmonds/Kingston: One late night roundtrip was cancelled with the second vessel picking up the remainder of its daily service. This was due to a crab pot line being wrapped around
the vessel’s propellor shaft.
Service Reliability*
For the week of June 10-16, systemwide service reliability was 97.6 %. Last week we cancelled 66 of 2,797 scheduled sailings, of which none were replaced. Of the cancellations, 47%
were due to crewing, 9% were due to a vessel being out for repairs (Tacoma and Chimacum mentioned above), 44% for schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a
sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers).
*For WSF, “reliability” refers to a scheduled sailing taking places, not on-time-performance. We understand for the public a significantly late sailing isn’t “reliable,” but we also
share on-time-performance data <https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/wsferries/viz/WSF-Public/Index> for transparency on both metrics.
Vessel Availability
Starting today, we’re operating at our 15-vessel current service level but adding a third “bonus” boat on the Fauntleroy/Southworth/Vashon route, with unscheduled operations focused
on keeping the other two boats assigned to the route on schedule. We’ll operate the third boat weekdays, for one watch, when we have the vessel and crewing availability to do so.
New Vessels and Jumbo Mark II Conversions
New Vessels – We have released the first part of an Invitation For Bid, allowing us to begin prequalifying shipyards, moving to selecting a shipyard(s) by the end of the year. We are
still scheduled to deliver two boats in 2028.
Hybrid Conversions – Work continues on the Wenatchee, the first Jumbo Mark II vessel undergoing its long-planned midlife propulsion upgrade. We will update you on significant project
milestones.
Major Events
This week, WSF is hosting two virtual public meetings, led by Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey, sharing the latest updates about crewing, hybrid-electric vessels, and progress on service
restoration. The meetings will give riders and community members the opportunity to ask questions of Steve, WSF Deputy Secretary Nicole McIntosh, and a panel of WSF directors.
We had over 200 people attend the meeting today. Participants will need to register for the 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 18 <https://wsdot-wa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dIoOsigmSBOrINOHvw9Wfg#/registration>
, Zoom meeting. The meetings will be recorded and available on our website after the meeting.
WSF Community Engagement
* Wednesday, June 12 – San Juan County Ferry Advisory Committee meeting
* Wednesday, June 12 – Presentation to the Langley Chamber of Commerce
* Wednesday, June 12 – Vashon Island fleet and terminal employee appreciation event and stakeholder collaboration meeting.
* Friday, June 14 – Meeting with City of Bainbridge discussing coordination on Bainbridge terminal electrification.
Hadley Rodero (she/her)
Deputy Director – Planning, Customer & Government Relations
Washington State Ferries/WSDOT Ferries Division
hadley.rodero@wsdot.wa.gov <mailto:hadley.rodero@wsdot.wa.gov>
mobile | 206-818-3813