Vashon advocacy group Islanders for Ferry Action — a local Chamber of Commerce project that advocates for practical solutions to the island’s diminished ferry service — has joined forces with two other similar organizations in the San Juan Islands and Bremerton.
As part of the “Fix Our Ferries citizen action movement,” those groups recently sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and the state legislature pressing for immediate action in the 2025 budget session to fix the ferry crisis, including funding to build one new boat annually on top of the boats currently out for bid; funding for competitive crew wages and benefits; and better transparency and data sharing from WSF.
“The 2024 legislative session showed everyone that citizen action delivers results,” Amy Drayer, Director of the Vashon-based Islanders for Ferry Action, said in a prepared press release. “Our community sent hundreds of emails and phone calls to legislators and ferry system officials … and it worked. We asked for concrete improvements to relieve the ferry crisis now while we wait for new boats and more ferry staff that will take years to arrive. Now, we’re joining with other communities struggling with the impacts of this crisis — because we know we’re stronger together.”
The other groups include Ferry Lovers of Washington (FLOW), Community Water Taxi of the San Juan Islands, and the Bremerton Ferry Coalition — and in statements, they shared displeasure with ferry service beyond just Vashon’s shores.
“Through late June and early July, the WSF Inter Island service in San Juan County has experienced its worst performance to date, with a loss of service on 16 out of 28 days,” the press release quoted Ed Andrews of Community Water Taxi. “These disruptions resulted in complete service outages on two separate days. This has led to the disintegration of our once connected island community into a series of isolated pockets.”
Fix Our Ferries focuses on securing commitments from the Governor and the Legislature to make real, lasting investment in the region’s marine highways, according to the release. The groups plan to meet monthly to strategize and coordinate their organizing tactics and recruit more communities. That will lead to a mid-fall legislative summit with legislators to finalize their goals for the 2025 legislative session.
The announcement comes after a rocky start to the month for the ferry system, which saw repeated hits to the island’s routes over the last few weeks.
On Thursday, July 18 WSF assistant secretary and leader Steve Nevey said in a weekly update from WSF: “Last week was challenging for our customers and employees navigating our service amidst a domino effect of disruptions. On top of losing two vessels, and temporarily a third, in one day on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route to mechanical issues, we’ve seen an increase in crewing cancellations due to health-related relief requests and vacation leave. … I know each cancellation impacts the daily life of our customers.”
