Since my wife and I now have a kayak-getaway lot on Whidbey Island we have found ourselves riding the Washington State Ferry system frequently. The ferries in Washington State carry 30,000 cars per day and comprise the largest ferry system in the USA and "the largest ferry system in the world based on vehicles carried" (their words). For kayakers traveling to the San Juan Islands and many other places in the Puget Sound area travel by ferry is mandatory but can be frustrating due to long wait times. Earlier this year I participated in a survey designed to help the fleet managers design a more efficient system and I think it became clear to them that some sort of reservation scheme would have to be put into place. Regular users are the bread-and-butter of the system and I think that the survey was planned and designed to gain information from as many "commuters" as possible. Up til now most commuters have not been very receptive to a reservation system feeling that their access to the ferries in summer would be curtailed by zillions of tourists grabbing all the spots. The Coupeville (Whidbey Island) to Port Townsend ferry was chosen as a pilot project and has been put in place effective May of 2008 (so it's in place now). This is important information for paddlers who want to use this ferry to get to Port Townsend for the Kayak Seminar in September. Even though the announcement of the reservations system uses the word "temporary" I suspect it is likely to be at least the foundation for a reservation system that will be in place fleet-wide in the next few years and if so it will impact all users of the system at some point and in some form. Right now you can make reservations as far in advance as 30 days and right up to within 2 hours of a scheduled ferry departure and reservations can be made by telephone (1-888-808-7977 or 1-206-464-6400 or by dialing 511 on your cell) from 7am til 9pm or on the Web. It's not exactly clear whether you will be required to purchase a ticket at the time of making the reservation or not but I'd be ready with a credit card just in case. Cars will still be allowed to travel "stand by" but on a space-available basis only. So if you find yourself deciding on the spur of the moment to travel to Pt. Townsend you can still do so. There have been some changes in the way multi-car and multi-ride passes are being handled, too. It all looks like good news to me since there are days when the wait times are simply untenable; especially after we've driven 3 hours from Moses Lake and would like to get to our destination real-soon-now. So if you are planning to attend the Paddling Seminar in Port Townsend this year and have to travel via ferry, be advised of the change. To read the announcement go to http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/commuter_updates/index.cfm?fuseaction=press_releases_content&press_release_id=601 Regards, Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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