PORT TOWNSEND — While there was some suspense last year about the continuation of two-boat service between Port Townsend and Coupeville earlier this year, the route is protected for the immediate future, according to the ferry system’s director.
“The budget presented by the former governor included some reductions in service,” David Moseley, Washington state’s assistant transportation secretary, told about 10 people at a community meeting in Port Townsend on Monday night.
“But we were able to transfer some money from other sources to avoid that reduction, so for the next few years, two-boat service is still intact,” Moseley said.
A proposal to decrease the number of daily runs and shorten the two-boat season was considered by former Gov. Chris Gregoire in 2012.
But it was withdrawn after a letter written by 19 ferry district legislators opposing such cutbacks was sent to her office.
The route has two ferries plying it from Mother’s Day to Columbus Day, when it reverts to one-boat service.
The Port Townsend-Coupeville route is the seventh busiest of 10 ferry routes, with 684,000 passengers and 323,000 vehicles per year, according to data from the state ferries system.
Moseley’s visit to Port Townsend was the seventh of eight community meetings scheduled in locations served by the state ferries system.
Moseley has said in the past that the ferry system is not sustainable, but Monday, he said a current legislative bill could change that situation.
The bill, HB-1955, is sponsored by Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, and would give the ferry system financial stability, Moseley said.
The bill allocates up to $550 million for ferry construction and terminal replacement.
“I have been talking about how the ferries are not sustainable for a number of years,” Moseley said.
“If you want to stop hearing me say this, you should call your legislators and tell them to pass this bill.”
Moseley, who was appointed to his position in 2008, said the bill was the first time in the six legislative sessions in which he has been involved “that I could point to a bill that makes us financially sustainable.
“I am avoiding the use of the ‘O’ word but will use the ‘H’ word,” he said, referring to optimism and hope.
“But I am hopeful that this is the year that something gets done.”
While fare box revenues do not themselves sustain the ferry system, two increases over the next year will bring the ferry system about $7 million a year, according to the state ferries system’s planning director, Ray Deardorf, who attended the meeting.
On Oct. 1, passenger fares will increase by 2 percent and vehicle fares by 3 percent.
On May 1, 2014, vehicle fares will increase by 2.5 percent and passenger fares another 2 percent.
In the case of the Port Townsend-Coupeville fares — where a percentage increase can be pennies — the increase will be rounded off to the nearest nickel, Moseley said.
Moseley addressed the stabilizing of the three Kwa-di Tabil ferries — the Salish, Chetzemoka and the Kennewick — which were found to list to one side after they were put into service beginning in 2010.
The Salish is the only one of the three to be stabilized with additional ballasts, while the other two will be fixed at a later date, Moseley said.
“This made customers and crew uncomfortable, so I decided that spending the $120,000 per vessel was a worthwhile investment,” he said.
“It is a cosmetic operation, like having a mole removed: It doesn’t affect your health, but it makes you feel better.”
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
