Changes to the vehicle-loading process at the Fauntleroy ferry dock are slated for next week as part of a four-day test of new procedures meant to speed up loading.
During afternoon and evening commute hours, the plan will include personnel changes at the entrance to the dock as well as a series of new procedures on the dock. The testing of this new process will run from Monday, May 15, through Thursday, May 18. On Friday, loading will resume as normal, while Washington State Ferries (WSF)officials determine what worked well and what might need improvement. WSF Communications Manager Brian Mannion said the goal of the changes, made in conjunction with the citizens’ Triangle Improvement Task Force, is to reduce the number of empty spots on vessels during the busy months of summer, although he said he predicted they will not be eliminated entirely.
“We really do think it is going to work, but that is not enough. We are testing it to make sure,” he said on Monday.
The plan, released earlier this week, calls for the addition of a WSF “splitter,” who will work in tandem with a police officer to direct traffic and keep the area in front of the tollbooths clear. Working together, the duo will be able to assist drivers farther up the line of waiting cars than the sole officer currently can, making the splitter instrumental in filling boats.
“If we need cars on that sailing, it is the splitter’s job to get them,” Mannion said.
Once on the dock, all drivers, even those with tickets, will stop at a tollbooth to purchase or redeem tickets. In turn, they will be given a receipt and a “destination card,” indicating whether they are going to Vashon or Southworth. After passing through the booth, they will no longer stop to have their ticket scanned. Mannion said WSF officials expect the process to go more quickly than it does now — despite all cars stopping at the booths — in part because the double stop to purchase and then redeem a ticket is eliminated. Moreover, he said the hand-held the scanners are problematic; relying on the booth scanners will avoid them and will make potential problems with tickets themselves quicker for drivers to solve. As a bonus to WSF, he said that the booth scanners are more accurate and will capture more revenue for the ferry system — although he noted this element is not what is driving the new plan.
A further change is that on single-destination sailings, both booths will be open to all vehicles more than they currently are. No changes are in store for motorcycles, vanpools and carpools, which should continue to use the exit lanes as usual.
To help prepare for next week’s pilot effort, WSF intends to educate its employees and the public about the pending changes. Mannion noted that the WSF implementation team would be at the terminal this week to discuss changes with employees, drivers and passengers. Additionally, WSF will send out emails and Twitter posts and physically post the information.
Drivers should begin looking for changes to the loading process Monday well in advance of the evening peak travel hours.
If the plan is deemed successful, Mannion said it will be implemented as soon as possible, although a date has not yet been set. If additional changes need to be made, WSF will amend them and conduct another test before proceeding — and will notify the public accordingly.
This plan was developed in response to widespread frustration with travel on the Vashon-Fauntleroy-Southworth route last summer because of long lines of cars, late sailings and ferries leaving only partially filled. After that, WSF created the Triangle Improvement Task Force, with people from all three communities. Their first task was to create opportunities for a “quick win” for the ferry service and passengers alike. This plan is the result of that work, along with the work of a large team from WSF, including personnel who worked on the dock, the terminal supervisor, the regional terminal manager and the port captain. The head of Vashon’s Ferry Advisory Committee, Greg Beardsley, sits on the task force and said he is hopeful.
“I think it is the best plan we have all thought of, given all the limitations,” he said.
Many islanders have asked for a bypass lane — a lane that would move pre-ticketed passengers past the booths without waiting. That is not going to happen, Beardsley said, in part because the traffic going down the exit lane has increased so much over the years, the ferry system would have to hire another person to ensure that the whole process occurred safely, and it does not have the money to do so.
Still, he said, he thinks this plan can work and he believes WSF is trying hard — especially compared to changes made last summer, which did not go well. He noted that many moving parts need to come together to make next week successful — including cooperation from islanders.
“I think it is going to take a positive attitude on the part of the users to make it work. If people do not want it to work, it won’t,” he added.
Both he and Mannion encouraged people with questions or concerns next week to keep them brief at the booths and talk to other WSF staff farther down the dock to help keep vehicles moving. Mannion also encouraged feedback via WSF’s online comment form.
“The goal has got to be to get the cars past the toll booth,” Beardsely stressed.
After next week’s trial run — and any changes that need to be made and further testing conducted — WSF plans to have new loading procedures in place in June. With that goal is mind, Beardsley said he would like to see things go smoothly next week and loading improvements made quickly.
“I am hopeful that it will go very well so that we do not have to change anything and we can institute it,” he said.
