It’s been a rough ride for those of us who commute off the Island on a regular basis. Commuters, as a rule already early risers, report that they’re getting up earlier than ever. Some are waiting in longer ferry lines. And the latest report is that the buses have been jam-packed.

Such is the result of the last-minute decision by the Washington State Ferries (WSF) to reduce our usual weekday route from three boats to two. And such is life on ferry-dependent Vashon Island.

There’s a bit of a silver lining in this bad news. Like the much-complained-about rain in our region, Vashon’s reliance on a flawed and frustrating ferry system means only those who really want to live here do.

But it shouldn’t be this difficult or, for that matter, so expensive to commute by way of ferries that are, as advocates point out, a part of the state highway system. Other commuters don’t have to pay through the nose for the right to get from Point A to Point B — despite the high costs of keeping our public roads open. Snow plows, for instance, are very likely at work right now clearing the passes of record snowfalls so that people who have chosen to live in Cle Elum and Roslyn can get to Seattle each day. Yet no special toll is levied to cover the costs of this expensive service.

It’s easy to complain, and most of us do. Now is the time, however, to turn those complaints into action. Thanks in part to the hard work of ferry-service advocates throughout the region, several bills that could help to redress our grievances — all sponsored by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Bainbridge Island) — are now before the Legislature. One is particularly noteworthy; HB 2454 would increase the amount of money WSF receives from the gas tax — from the infinitesimal amount of .5 percent to 1.5 percent. Inadequate funding is probably the hugest issue facing the ferry system.

The district’s three lawmakers have already endorsed Appleton’s bills. Even so, write and e-mail them; add your voice to the chorus of support. Countless letters just might help them to convince their colleagues that there’s a rising tide of upset about our ailing ferry system, that the funding is inadequate and that simple fairness requires a reworking of the equation.