Last updated November 4, 2010 8:52 p.m. PT
Facing up to $17 million in cuts next year, the state ferry system may reduce or eliminate some service on at least three cross-sound routes.
Among the possibilities are idling a 144-car "Super Class" vessel and cancelling plans to send a much-anticipated second ferry to Port Townsend.
Washington State Ferries is considering several options, which include cutting a midday run between Seattle and Bremerton and eliminating night service between Mukilteo and Clinton -- a popular route with more than 4 million riders in 2009.
Vessels on several routes could be downsized under the options being considered, which would mean less capacity for travelers headed across the Puget Sound.
"This series of moves is where some significant cost reductions could occur if the governor and the Office of Financial Management wanted to go there," said David Moseley, assistant secretary of transportation for Washington State Ferries. "It would affect just about every route in the system."
The proposals were outlined Thursday on the state Office of Financial Management's website. Overall, the state Transportation Department has been asked to cut $212 million as the state stares down a $4.5 billion overall budget deficit.
In addition to service cuts, the ferry service has proposed eliminating seven administrative positions to save about $750,000, plus reducing overtime spending by $680,000, and cutting travel and non-mandatory training. The proposed cuts in ferry service would save about $10.5 million.
Another possibility is extending the winter service schedule -- during which there is no service between Anacortes and Sydney, B.C. and sailings are reduced on some other routes -- from 12 to 20 weeks.
Washington has the nation's largest ferry service, with more than 22 million riders annually.
Among the most current options, the ferry system may decide to "de-crew" one of four "Super Class" vessels, which carry 144 vehicles, and pull it from the Seattle-Bremerton route, Moseley said. Currently, the Kaleetan fills that role on the run.
The vessel would not be decommissioned, but simply idled to save personnel and fuel costs. It would be replaced by the Issaquah, a 124-vessel vehicle that currently connects Fauntleroy, Vashon Island and Southworth.
That would mean shifting the M/V Evergreen State, an 87-vehicle vessel that sails among the San Juan Islands, to the Fauntleroy route.
"By decreasing ferry service hours and ferry capacity, there may be less-reliable travel times, longer travel delays, and lower on-time performance," the budget documents said. "In addition, there may be more cars on roads and highways as potential ferry riders may drive to a different ferry route or seek to drive without using ferry transportation."
State Rep. Larry Seaquist, a Gig Harbor Democrat whose district is heavily dependent on ferries, said Bremerton ferry riders already feel like they're the "stepchild" of the ferry system because boats often are pulled from their route when other vessels in the system break down.
"My concern is, we shouldn't be cutting. The ferry system is absolutely critical to the economic health of our community. Over here, not only does it affect jobs, but it affects housing prices. We should not be talking about service reductions," he said.
Seaquist said he'd like to see more cuts in administrative and headquarters staffing. His first proposal would be to reduce the number of ferry terminal supervisors.
The proposed vessel shifting also would spoil plans for ferry riders between the Olympic Peninsula and Whidbey Island. Port Townsend was scheduled to get a second ferry -- the Salish -- in spring 2011. The Salish is the sister ship of the Chetzemoka, which is slated to start service Nov. 14 on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route.
Instead of going to Port Townsend, however, the Salish would be sent to the San Juan Islands to replace the Evergreen State, under the proposals unveiled Thursday.
The Chetzemoka and the Salish are the first and second of three new 64-car Kwa-di Tabil Class ferries -- the first new WSF vessels in more than a decade . They were ordered to replace the 80-year-old Steel Electric-class ferries, which were decommissioned in 2007 due to corroding hulls.
Before the Steel Electrics were retired, there were two vessels sailing between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island in the summer. For the past few years, only a 50-car ferry on lease from Pierce County has handled the run.
The ferry system cut $50 million from its last two-year budget. News of more cuts comes as the state Transportation Commission considers whether to increase ferry fares by 2.5 percent. The budget report suggested increasing fares by 5 percent, which would raise about $4.6 million and spare some cuts.
But with voters passing Tim Eyman's Initiative 1053, which requires all tax increases to be approved by two-thirds of the state Legislature, state Sen. Pam Roach has asked state Attorney General Rob McKenna for a formal opinion on whether a fare increase would violate I-1053.
In an e-mail to McKenna's office, Roach wrote: "The people have made it clear that they want all fee increases in any fiscal year to be specifically approved by the legislature in a recorded vote. The commission's plans seem to violate that."
Moseley said Thursday that some savings may result if WSF acts on recommendations in a report from experts with the Passenger Vessel Association, an industry group. Gov. Gregoire requested a report from the group into accountability practices in the ferry system after a series of investigative reports by KING/5 into overtime spending abuses inside the ferry system.
Moseley said the agency agrees with some recommendations and would have to study others more thoroughly because they would require changes in labor agreements with employees.
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