At a public meeting set for Wednesday evening, ferry officials will discuss the revised loading procedures at Fauntleroy and invite public comment on the changes, which have drawn criticism from many islanders since they were implemented in June.

The forum, slated for 7 p.m. at Vashon High School, follows a meeting of the Triangle Route Improvement Task Force last week, where Washington State Ferries (WSF) officials and task force members discussed the latest data on the changes. Director of Operations Greg Faust indicated that WSF statistics show that vehicle “throughput” is the same or slightly better than in previous years and that benefits of the new process include making tolling procedures consistent with practices at other docks, increasing fare collection and allowing for the ability to redeem tickets from phones — a new feature WSF released quietly late last month. Several islanders unhappy with the Fauntleroy changes attended that meeting last Thursday. In the short time that was allocated for them to speak, they raised a variety of issues, among them the necessity for a larger dock, the importance of restoring the bypass lane for ticketed passengers and the belief that WSF is not adequately evaluating the new procedures. In addition to travel-related concerns, one islander noted that ferry officials scheduled the Vashon meeting for Rosh Hashanah, one of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar.

The changes that WSF implemented in June were intended to be a “quick win” and improve service after considerable challenges on the Triangle Route in the summer of 2016. At least one WSF official has acknowledged the changes were not a win, and when WSF spokeswoman Hadley Rodero announced this week’s meetings, she acknowledged that ferry officials know many islanders are unhappy.

“We know there is frustration and people who are interested in sharing thoughts and comments. That’s why we are holding the meeting,” she said.

Indeed, approximately 20 of those people planning to attend tonight’s meeting met Sunday for a gathering spearheaded by islander Dustin Prestridge in an attempt to present a unified, clear message from islanders.

On Monday, Prestridge said those who attended are passionate about ferry service and that they have agreed on several issues to bring to WSF officials. Those include requests for WSF to fill the boats, reinstate a bypass lane for those with tickets and measure not only boat occupancy, but the number of cars remaining in line. Prestridge added that the group also wants to know what the key performance indicator is for WSF.

According to WSF’s Rodero, the first hour of the meeting Wednesday will include presentations by WSF head Amy Scarton, Director of Community Services and Planning Stephanie Cirkovich, and Faust. Some members of the Triangle Route Improvement Task Force, which created the new loading procedures with WSF, will also attend. The second hour of the meeting is planned for public comment. Rodero said speakers will be asked to sign up and will be limited to two minutes each.

As part of WSF’s presentation, Faust is expected to review the data regarding the first two month’s of the changes, giving a presentation similar to the one he gave the task force members on Thursday. Rodero said that in response to requests, he will also provide data for the number of vehicles moved through tollbooths from 6 to 9 p.m. weekdays — outside of the 3 to 6 p.m. time frame he had been evaluating.

Last week, Faust’s report indicated that the results from the second 30 days WSF evaluated were similar to the first 30 days, when the results were considered flat — and not the improvement WSF had hoped to see.

According to Faust’s report, in the first 30 days, from the third week of June to the third week of July, daily ticket redemptions from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday rose from 635 in 2016 to 638.5 this year. In the second 30-day period, from the third week in July to the third week in August, that number rose a small amount: to 642.

Before the new procedures were implemented, WSF spokesman Brian Mannion said one of the goals was to increase the number of vehicles through the tollbooths during peak times from three per minute to four. Faust’s report indicates that goal was not achieved. In the first 30 days, the average was 3.55 vehicles per minute. In the second period, it was 3.57.

Previously, task force members had asked Faust to compare this summer’s numbers to those from fall, when there is typically less ferry traffic. Faust chose October 2016, which, unexpectedly, had higher numbers than the summer 30-day periods Faust had evaluated from 2012 to this year. In fact, the statistics showed that 15,359 vehicles went through the tollbooth in October 2016 compared to 14,686 and 14,770 in the 30-day periods this year spanning June and July, and July and August, respectively. Average ticket redemptions per minute last October, at 3.7, were also higher than summer comparisons.

As part of his presentation, Faust addressed topics directly related to the absence of bypass lane.

Ferry officials have repeatedly said it was abolished for safety reasons, although they have said no accidents were reported in the exit lanes. Faust indicated he believes the new procedures are an improvement.

“It seems safer,” he said. “It seems better. We’ve got people slowed down where we need them, where they make the turn into the booth. That part I certainly appreciate. It seems like our staff is in better positions to do what needs to be done as far as vanpools coming through … the exit lanes.”

Also, ferry officials have indicated the scanners did not always work properly, reducing WSF’s fare collection. Faust addressed this as well.

“The elephant in the room — increased fare collection,” he said. “You don’t know what you don’t know, and when you know it, you can’t go back. We know now that we are collecting more fares and not just because we are pushing through more people. So once you know that, it is hard for any company to go back to where … they are going to lose revenue.”

Part of last week’s meeting was given over to what task force representatives wanted to address next, including if they wanted to move on to assessing the schedule, which WSF officials have said is the next step. Vashon only had one representative there, Steve Merkel, who was suffering from laryngitis. Some of the members expressed ambivalence about moving ahead and questioned how to interpret what they were hearing, both good and bad, from islanders and from the data. Other members also addressed potential possible solutions to expedite loading. Merkel noted that the choke point for the process comes as cars from two destinations turn into the dock, and he wondered if there might be options for exploring creating two lanes for the two destinations. Margaret Clements, from Fauntleroy, presented a variety of options to explore what she believes could potentially improve efficiencies, including during peak hours relying on more dual-destination boats — which are easier to fill than single-destination boats, the possibility of using one booth for pre-ticketed vehicles only, trying different strategies to get people out of single-occupancy vehicles and making a concerted effort to get pre-ticketing to work. She said she did not share some members’ frustration and that she would like to continue with the work of the group.

“I feel like we are barely educated enough to make a difference,” she said.

Rodero said she expects the group will moved ahead and review medium- to longer-term strategies to improve service on the route. Meanwhile, islanders who want to have their say about ferry service are encouraged to attend the meeting at the high school.

It is now possible to purchase some varieties of ferry tickets online and have them be redeemable on a mobile phone. The tickets will come as a PDF in an email to the purchaser. Tickets that can be purchased on the Wave2Go site include single ride, multi-ride and monthly passenger passes. To purchase tickets, see wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/wave2go.