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Over the weekend, The Seattle Times published a good overview of what ails our ferry system. Tim Eyman, by cutting the motor-vehicle tax, launched the first torpedo. Out of money, the ferry captains deferred maintenance and jacked up fares, sending usage downward.
The message seems to be: retrenchment. Maybe the opposite course makes more sense?
Instead of thinking of Puget Sound ferries as a plain-vanilla extension of our highways, what if we thought of them as a powerful draw for tourism, an amenity for the locals, and a great place to hold meetings and parties? Not floating busses but tiny cruise ships? In turn, this way of thinking about the boats might steer us to a new source of funding: visitor taxes.
The boats and terminals are drab and utilitarian, even if the views and the bracing marine air are splendid. In fact, we have the finest and biggest ferry system in the country (excepting Alaska, a special case). Probably many of us have had the experience of riding on ferries in European countries, particularly Scandinavia, where the food is delicious, there's a nice bar or two, some street musicians are playing, and you can book some better seats, as on a train. It can't be that hard to add such features here, and the new revenues would probably cover the costs.
And what about some private meeting rooms? These could be reserved for private parties or for business meetings and retreats that might last a round trip or two, or be developed shoreside at the terminals.
The most intriguing aspect of this long-proposed approach is that the ferry system could establish a legitimate funding claim on visitor taxes all up and down the Sound. These taxes on hotel rooms, rental cars, restaurant meals and the like are normally directed to sports stadiums and convention centers, most of which are already built. As the taxes are paid off for stadiums, they are being coveted by Husky Stadium, Seattle Center, cleanup of Puget Sound, low income housing, and arts groups. Shouldn't the ferry system and all those ferry riders be putting its nose into this trough?
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Comments:
Posted Mon, May 19, 8:02 p.m. Inappropriate
It was never intended to be a mini-ocean voyage with luxury accomodations just off the lido deck. Flinty old Captain Alexander Peabody, the hard-headed owner of the Black Ball Line that that state jacked into selling it the line, was in the business of moving people and vehicles, and that's been the mission of the ferry system ever since.
Plans for Taj Mahalish terminals were on the drawing boards, but have since been scrapped - boats that are seaworthy and not subject to getting their tickets yanked by the Coast Guard because they're unsafe at any speed is way more important.
This tacky state of affairs isn't Tim Eyman's fault, though his status as convenient whipping boy once again goes unchallenged. Money, time, and human resources have been wasted for a long time without necessary legislative oversight.
Boats that were safe yesterday, but death traps today; planned replacement vessals that are too large; grandiouse schemes for luxury terminals all in the face of declining patronage (per The Times article, down 11% since 2000 due to sharp fare increases) are problems that won't be solved by making another Seattle-area institution something tailor-made for the well healed and affluent.
Remember, this is a highway system we're talking about - I don't see anyone suggesting lidding a new 520 bridge with meeting rooms and a dance floor. It's important to keep in mind why the state got into the ferry business in the first place and what happens when it takes its governmental eye off the people's ball.
The Piper
Posted Tue, May 20, 8:56 a.m. Inappropriate
More money is not the problem: The challenge with WSDOT as is often the case with state government has been incompetence -- witness as one of many examples the $90 million and counting wasted on trying to site a graving dock on the Olympic Peninsula, when perfectly useful graving docks were available in the Seattle-Tacoma area. WSDOT whined, "How could we have known there was an Indian burial ground there?" How? By actually doing some real investigative work BEFORE blundering ahead blindly. Turning over a few teaspoonfuls of earth doesn't pass that test. But even more to the heart of the issue, by rejecting from the outset a ham-handed political deal to use transportation dollars to create an economic development project -- one that would compete with existing private businesses -- in a key legislator's district.
Piper is right -- blaming Tim Eyman, even though he is a garish self-promoter who cares more about lining his pockets than anything else -- is foolish. Olympia refuses to look at reality. The state budget is built on a house of cards. Our "leaders" throw our money around as if it were theirs. Some adult supervision is sorely needed.
Posted Tue, May 20, 11:43 a.m. Inappropriate
With all due respect, the old black ball line did far more than just transport...: Captain Peabody may have been a hard driving business person, but to say the old fleet just moved people is to omit the entire off hour history of the old Kalakala. Piper, please review the web site at http://www.kalakala.org/
From the day she was LAUNCHED, the Black Ball line used her as an evening cruise vessel. She had her own band! Didn't you ever have a date on board her? From the web site www.kalakala.org/ her history states:
July 4, 1935 The KALAKALA starts daily service from Seattle to Bremerton. Starting at 6:30 am, she makes six round trips daily. Fares are 45 cents for passengers and $1.10 for autos and driver. Every evening at 8:30 she leaves Seattle for a 'Moonlight Cruise' that lasts until 12:30am. Cost is $1.00 per couple to dance to Joe Bowen and the "Flying Bird Orchestra". the red velvet chairs in the forward cabin are moved aside to provide a dance floor and music is electrically piped throughout the ship to all decks.
Two issues are pointed out here: First, she only did six round trips a day. Our state ferries, being a HIGHWAY, has always offered far more crossings.
Secondly, it may be illegal for a state supported enterprise to compete with current commercial vessels that do offer tours, events and private charters, such as Argosy, or Victoria Clipper.
The State Ferry system faces the same issues as our post office. They MUST serve those otherwise NOT served. Fed Ex, DHL, UPS et all do NOT have to deliver to every address. USPS must. As a state run extension of our highway system and remains at it's worst, still FAR cheaper still then building the holy grail of highway projects, the long vaunted Cross Sound Bridge.
Everyone seems to forget that the state got into the ferry business as the "white knight" to keep the system going following a long strike... during which the residents of Vashon even rented a Barge and attempted to run their own service.
While not utilized by all the state residents, like all highway projects, good transportation allows better commerece. Those who like Eyman's emasculation of the highway budget deserve long ferry lines and potholes. Tim has NEVER run for office where he actually would have to make the hard decisions. He just runs populist initiatives for a living, making money off our simple desire for less taxes.
Not saying that the WSF has never wasted money... But hindsight is 20-20. This region has never seen the future it got. IF only we had kept the interurban. If only we had kept the streetcars. If only we had kept the cable cars. If only we had kept the mosquito fleet. If only only we had kept the ferry system private...
As private enterprise has yet to see it in their best and profitable interests to attempt cross sound scheduled traffic, I would suggest that the ferry system, if kept private, would never have offered the choices we have of frequency of service or the quality of new vessels the system has brought on line.
Just two routes pay for themselves. Generally the older smaller vessels are on the lesser trafficed routes. What would you do differently?
Our crossings are too short for "better quality cabins at higher rates". We can barely get chowder out to all in line on the Bainbridge route. Chartering the vessels out for private parties to raise additional revenue is a nice idea, but do you have any spare boats? Would you like to have your wedding at 2:00 AM?
In short, as fuel is expensive, it is no longer cheaper, cleaner or greener to drive around the sound. A standerdized fleet, with some amenities, is a worthy goal. I for one would rather pay my taxes than see a 3 story tall advertisement on the side of our ships.
Posted Tue, May 20, 1:38 p.m. Inappropriate
RE: With all due respect, the old black ball line did far more than just transport...: I'd just point out that this "white knight" first forced the Black Ball Line into bankruptcy by denying it its first fare increase since the war, which the Black Ball managers intended to use to honor ferry workers' demands for higher wages. The Black Ball Line, for PR and safety reasons, refused to operate with scab labor, so they tied up their boats when the strike began. Both the Line and the union were expecting the State to allow the increase when they saw how critical the ferry service was. So, in a landmark case in the history of organized labor, both labor and management agree on a course of action and the State responds by bankrupting and nationalizing the ferry system.
There's also quite a big barrier to entry for private ferry systems in the fact that the State flatly refuses to allow them to use the State's (that is, the ferry commuters') docks. Even if a private concern could locate land usable for a dock at either end of a proposed route, it's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be hell to pay in the permitting process for building such facilities.
Posted Tue, May 20, 3:40 p.m. Inappropriate
TIM STRIKES AGAIN: David, if voters had not approved the Eyman intiative then the Ferry System would have had more money and would have been able to go ahead with the ambitious terminal program. Maintenance and upkeep on the vessels themselves (which naive me would have expected to come out of operating income) would have been more aggressively pursued.
If the voters had not approved the Eyman initiative then things would be better, yes?
A plausible argument can be made that passage of the initiative simply revealed trouble a bit earlier than would have otherwise been the case. Eyman's "torpedo" may have done us all a favor, including the Ferry System. I love the ferries and do not think they are overpriced now; I tend to think it is a well run system but it is inherently expensive and its built-in costs will naturally limit its service. We might as well get used to it.
Thank you, Piper, for your defense of Eyman.
Posted Tue, May 20, 5 p.m. Inappropriate
RE: TIM STRIKES AGAIN: It's the Legislature's responsibility to fund things like the ferry system. Unfortunately, every time the voters (and remember, the sinister Mr. Eyman would be powerless without them) object to certain tax schemes, the Legislature's typical response is not to cut extravagances out of the budget, but to start shutting down libraries, cutting back on police and fire service, and putting off necessities like maintaining the ferry fleet. These tantrum-like responses to direct democracy will probably continue until a neglected bridge collapses or a ferry boat sinks or other major loss of life takes place. After all, we can't give up "10% for the arts" or other critical legislative priorities for the sake of those pesky core government services.
Posted Wed, May 21, 10:15 a.m. Inappropriate
RE: Highway robbery: I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, but it is a great topic. Brewster's point about the broad based useage of tourist taxes beyond just sports stadia is smart. Similarly we should be looking at the 1% for arts funds as a way of funding those items that benefit locals - including Stadiums, and maybe even a bike trail or two!
And hey, adding log boom tie-ups to the new 520 bridge might not even be a bad idea. Nor for that matter would some promotional paint jobs for the ferry fleet.
Lastly, using Tim Eyman as a whipping boy is way to old. Though the liberal media may well think he is fair game the only one who looks like trash from this sort of behavior are those who engage in it.
Right?
-Douglas Tooley
USA
Posted Thu, May 22, 12:42 a.m. Inappropriate
Back to Basics!!: The politics of paying for the Ferry system is an endless tape loop of blame. If State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen can sort it all out, give her the next Nobel Prize in Economics.
But folks, a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money. Any boater can tell you the stories. SALT water just compounds the problems.
If you own a fleet of 70 year old STEEL ferries, with diesels that first produce ELECTRICITY to then drive electric motors - you should darn well know that corrosion,made worse by electrolysis (made worse by the fact you are operating in saltwater)- I say, if you operate such an old fleet and DON"T know you have serious corrosion issues, you must have checked your brain at the door or, alternatively, buried your head completely in the mud a low tide.
Ross
Warm Beach