Slog
News & ArtsMonday, December 10, 2012
Transportation / City Trouble in Ferryland
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Dec 10, 2012 at 2:42 PM
If you commute by ferry in Seattle, you're going to need to plan for extra time in your commute all week long, KIRO says:
First plagued with missed sailings because of staffing issues, the ferry service is now without backup boats after three vessels were taken out of service for emergency maintenance...One of the biggest losses is the ferry Sealth, which runs between Seattle and Bremerton. A hole was discovered in its hull on Friday.
Nobody knows when the boats will be back online, but the slower replacement ferries will probably be running all week long. Sympathies to the Bremertonians and Bainbridgeites (?) who will be suffering through the delays. City and state transportation politicians should consider this to be a reminder that our public transportation infrastructure is always just one fuckup away from a commute disaster.
2
How long till the inevitable "government should not provide ferries" nonsense starts up again? Never mind that our geography would cripple the state without ferries...
5
Why don't we just stop plowing the passes until the Eastern subsidized part comes to their senses?
There. Saved lots of money.
There. Saved lots of money.
6
"City and state transportation politicians should consider this to be a reminder that our public transportation infrastructure is always just one fuckup away from a commute disaster."
screw that. just have them all move into apodments.
there. saved lots of money.
screw that. just have them all move into apodments.
there. saved lots of money.
7
Damn, if only there were some sort of simple majority vote of our elected representatives to raise emergency maintenance funds for this state agency in need. I mean, wouldn't it be great if we had some sort of government chamber that decided how and when to raise revenues for public goods and services through a democratic process?
9
weird how the Bremerton ferry always breaks but the Bainbridge ferry never does. It's almost as if the rich people get better service than the poor.
13
Most places in the world once dependent upon ferries have replaced them with bridges just for this reason. Hope it never happens in Seattle - but who knows? So many other great Seattle icons have bit the dust.
14
Winslowers
Also I'm amazed that WSF didn't rush to fill the gap in Bainbridge ferry service with personal yacht rides while providing the Bremerton run with a leaky tugboat or something
Also I'm amazed that WSF didn't rush to fill the gap in Bainbridge ferry service with personal yacht rides while providing the Bremerton run with a leaky tugboat or something
15
@11: Don't know much about the 2 bus, though I thought it went through Queen Ann from memory. Feel free to move the goalposts there if you'd like. It's not like I think that discrimination based on income isn't a thing, just that in this case it's a hell of a lot better explained with demand.
17
@14 -- There is a bridge. it crosses the Narrows (with a toll).
@15 -- I bet your gold-plated limosine creates a lot of demand. It's heavier and longer than a normal car.
Oh, and probably not a good idea to bring up supply and demand wrt your precious this-one-never-fails ferry. We're talking about a system completely dependent on the DOT.
@15 -- I bet your gold-plated limosine creates a lot of demand. It's heavier and longer than a normal car.
Oh, and probably not a good idea to bring up supply and demand wrt your precious this-one-never-fails ferry. We're talking about a system completely dependent on the DOT.
18
@13 Bridge maintenance can also be neglected to the point of near failure. We have plenty of them in this state.
25
What about the Vashon ferry? Now those thing's are pieces of shit. Has anyone ever ridden the one that goes from Point Defiance to Vashon? It's like a history lesson.
Also, most of the ferries that run the Bremerton route used to be on the Bainbridge run. They upgraded more because of increased ridership on the Bainbridge route (the population of the Island nearly doubled over the past 20 years) rather than to stick it to Bremerton for being "poor". The Spokane and the Walla Walla just didn't have the capacity to meet the increased demand.
Fools.
Also, most of the ferries that run the Bremerton route used to be on the Bainbridge run. They upgraded more because of increased ridership on the Bainbridge route (the population of the Island nearly doubled over the past 20 years) rather than to stick it to Bremerton for being "poor". The Spokane and the Walla Walla just didn't have the capacity to meet the increased demand.
Fools.
26
@17
I just checked the 2011 numbers. Bainbridge has almost three times the ridership of Bremerton. The Bainbridge route is responsible for almost thirty percent of all WSF ridership.
I just checked the 2011 numbers. Bainbridge has almost three times the ridership of Bremerton. The Bainbridge route is responsible for almost thirty percent of all WSF ridership.
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