[UPDATE: An earlier version of this article claimed that WSDOT has purchased no new ferries for a decade. There have been four.]
The Washington State Shuttle Service (WSF) is in the news. And not in a good way. After 70 years of stable and reliable service, it is falling apart. Straight lead us to believe. But the breakup is all about 70 years of stable and reliable service.
Seventy years ago, the state of Washington intervened and took over a failed private shuttle service. Without cheering. Literally at the flick of a pen, a privately owned public shuttle service has become the country’s highways. The Seattle / Bremerton Road is part of the 304 freeway. This is the highway I drive most often and on a trip to Seattle last week, it’s what I looked at from the big, generous window. No concrete strip, front or back.
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So why designate a public transportation service as part of the highway system? It seems that while the state has taken over the ferry service, it is meant to be a temporary repair until bridges can be built. But of course the bridges were not built. And the tools became floating, rolling bridges that did the job and even better – became icons.
Unfortunately, being the narrative – strong and able to represent reality – the public ferry service has indeed become the country’s highways. Ferry service as bridges. Plan, fund, build and maintain to prevent it from sinking into the sea as long as possible.
There are 21 automatic ferries / passengers in the current fleet. Nine-year-olds over 30. There is only one backup boat. According to the WSF, by 2040 an additional sixteen vessels will be needed to maintain current service. This is compared to a forecast of a 30% increase in expected demand in that year. These are facts that have not been leaked to anyone. Just a lot of repair going on.
And let’s talk about sea ferry people. The average age is 56. In the next five years thirty percent will be 65 years old and will qualify for retirement. These are not the planners and managers. These are the men and women needed daily for the operation, cleaning and maintenance of the tools. From the entry level for regular sailors to captains. These are also facts that have not crept into anyone. Many overtime kept the service stable and reliable. Add Cubid-19 to the same older workforce at risk of going on sick leave and having accumulated leave to avoid or protest warehouses, and the inevitable crisis came earlier. A plague was required for Washington State shuttles to operate Overtime analysis.
Now you might think that defining the disintegration of our shuttle system as a narrative problem is a stretch. The problem is the lack of funding of the state legislature. But I ask you to search in depth for the basic story. The story is the game book from which program, funding and management decisions are made. The nickname of the ferry lanes as highways may have been convenient for the budget office and seemingly harmless to the sustainability of the service. Perhaps this even justified the state’s takeover of the service. But after 70 years of traveling by sea, it’s clear we’ve missed the boat. We followed the wrong narrative.
The highway narrative is basically static. Yes, vehicles move along it, but the road itself should be laid in a stable manner. Built to last with regular maintenance. This narrative works for highway projects, but not for a public ferry service. The public transportation narrative is fundamentally dynamic. By definition, it is a movement. And at his best, he embraces the public in his name. It excites people. Old, young, rich, poor, brown, white, with body, capable otherwise. No one moves under them Owned Power, but together partners in public power.
What keeps a transportation system in motion are the rolling inventory and operators. This is the most basic fact of public transportation. Hands down. And yet, at the expense of all, it is the neglect of both that is causing the failure of the ferry system. 70 years have passed depending on maintenance to carry the day. Wait until you reach the end of the road with old boats and too many crew members towards sunset. This could only happen with a highway narrative.
WSF has approached other local public transportation agencies to provide the dynamic narrative, but what has been lost is this dynamic narrative within the organization itself. WSF is the largest ferry system in the United States, and the second largest in the world in vehicle transportation. But it’s not world class. WSF is just starting its electrification initiative as described in it 2020 report. The Norwegian Ministry of Transport began in 2012 a competition for the design of the most environmentally friendly car / passenger ferry. This is a dynamic narrative of public transportation that this year can boast of laying The largest all-electric ferry in the world For service. Is it not fair to compare the state of Washington to Norway? Maybe. But consider the importance of the WSF to adopt a dynamic and focused public transportation narrative.
The Salish Sea, the Kitsap Peninsula, San Juan and the other islands that serve our ferry system, and the Olympic Peninsula to the west, need a conversation that begins with the public. What we want is that this incredibly beautiful marine ecosystem and the hitherto undeveloped territories will be in 70 years. It is home to a rich indigenous culture and small family-owned farms. And yet affordable housing close enough to enter a developing world-class city. And of course a delicate inhuman world at sea and on its lands. No other country on the continent of the United States has such a great and rich gift of sea and land, beautiful both visually and in its ability to give priority to life in abundance. The lack of a dynamic narrative of public transportation will kill this possibility.
God WSF January 2021 Fact Sheet Lists its main key function as a “transport agency” with “Marine Road” in second place. The facts do not support this order. In his book on writing, Swimming in the pool in the rain, George Saunders, author of Lincoln in Bardo (Stunning narrative) says that “a story is a system for transferring energy.” “Energy made in the early pages is transferred throughout the story, transferred section by section to the section, like a bucket of water in preparation for a fire, and the hope is that not a drop will be lost.” Let’s change narratives. Crisis is probably the best seed for change, so it’s time. Together we can write an award-winning public transportation story for the next 70 years of Washington’s iconic and beloved public shuttle service.