During a public meeting last week at Vashon High School, Washington State Ferries officials continued to say the new loading procedures at Fauntleroy “made it slightly better” at the troublesome dock, but hundreds of islanders at that meeting disagreed.

In a presentation given by Washington State Ferries (WSF) Operations Director Greg Faust at the beginning of the Wednesday meeting, he said the loading changes implemented at the beginning of the summer season — which include a “splitter” directing traffic at the booths and destination cards for drivers — allow for “slightly better” vehicle throughput, a more orderly flow of vehicles, consistency in that the tolling at Fauntleroy is now the same as it is across the system’s other routes, increased toll collection and increased employee morale. But the more than 200 islanders in attendance responded to Faust’s claims with scoffing laughter and yelling, “Who cares?” when he mentioned the practice makes Fauntleroy consistent with tolling practices across the system. Many islanders went on to say that the triangle is not like the system’s other routes — Ferries has noted it is “complex” and is the only commuter dual-destination sailing that also serves two high-population areas, one of which is a true island — and should not be treated like the rest.

“How can it be the most complex route, but run like any other route?” islander Dustin Prestridge asked Faust.

Islander Michelle Harvey followed and asked the same question, adding: “Improved employee morale is great, but what about customer morale?”

The data presented by Faust at last week’s meeting and Triangle Route Improvement Task Force meetings prior show that while the changes have indeed not made the Fauntleroy dock worse, they have not made it better. The numbers show an average of three more cars moved through the booths between 3 and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday from the third week of June to the third week of July as compared to the same time period in 2016. Washington State Ferries (WSF) spokesman Brian Mannion called the results “flat” in August.

Islanders last Wednesday called for an adjustment in WSF’s measures and Sarah LeBlanc suggested that instead of measuring the number of cars moved through the booths, a more accurate measure would be how long the cars had been waiting.

The question of why the procedures continue, especially after a summer that saw so many frustrations, has remained. But Ferries’ ability to collect fares seems to be the reason. Ferries has been saying for years that their hand-held scanners, that allow for ticket redemptions beyond the tollbooths, are “problematic” and sometimes don’t record fares, meaning free rides occur, especially for those with multi-ride tickets. In fact, one islander at the meeting last Wednesday said that while she appreciated getting 12 rides on her 10-ride ticket, she understands Ferries needs to fix the issue.

The new procedures require all tickets to be scanned at the tollbooths and at a Triangle Improvement Task Force meeting earlier this month, Faust said Ferries knows they are collecting more fares.

“So once you know that, it is hard for any company to go back to where … they are going to lose revenue,” he said.

The 24 islanders that stood up Wednesday made comments about the reality of recent service with the new procedures on the triangle route which, over the last few months, has included hours-long lines of cars stretched up Fauntleroy Way while partially filled boats depart. But islanders also voiced frustration over Ferries’ reluctance to reinstate a bypass lane that, for years, allowed pre-ticketed cars around the tollbooth via the exit lane.

Faust addressed the long-debated bypass lane and continued to state Ferries’ reasoning for not bringing it back is due to safety concerns. However, islanders recognized there was an issue with his Powerpoint slide illustrating the lane that he presented Wednesday. The diagram on his slide showed six “issue areas” where collisions could potentially occur due to cars swerving from the far right lane around the tollbooth to the bypass lane. Islander Rheagan Sparks, who said she has been commuting via the ferries for more than 20 years, called out the issue at the meeting, as well as after the meeting in the Vashon Ferry Advisory Committee Facebook page.

“The best coping mechanism is the bypass lane. It was always done from the far left-hand lane, and you were waved around,” Sparks said. “It was specifically tailored to fill the back half of boats. There’s no swerving.”

She later called Faust’s graphic a “gross misrepresentation” of the original bypass lane procedure.

Todd Pearson also spoke out against Ferries’ reasoning that the lane is too unsafe to reinstate and said ferry service this summer was “mind-bendingly crappy.”

“People are angry, but mostly they’re astonished and bewildered. They can’t for the life of them figure out why you’ve chosen the most inefficient way imaginable to move them across the water,” he said. “They wonder why WSF refuses to again allow pre-ticketed cars around the tollbooths. There’s no evidence that it was unsafe as WSF claims in all the years it has been practiced. There is no doubt that single procedure made it possible for many, many years to overcome the problem of an undersized dock and fully load the boats. Reinstate that single procedure and most of our problems would disappear.”

Other potential solutions islanders brought forward involved implementing a Good2Go system like the one found on the toll roads throughout the region and building a larger dock at Fauntleroy.

Faust and the other Ferries officials — Assistant Secretary Amy Scarton and Director of Community Services and Planning Stephanie Cirkovich — took notes throughout the comment process, and spokeswoman Hadley Rodero ensured the audience that Ferries executives were listening, but would not respond to comments at the meeting.

“They’re here to listen, they’re here to take your input,” she said. “There is no deadline for comments. We’ll take your input at any time.”

Looking ahead, Scarton said the comments will be cataloged and the task force will “continue to work through” them.

“I think we’ve heard a lot of good ideas, a lot of new things,” she said. “We’ve heard a range of ideas. There are some quick things that we can look at. Some of the ideas are a little longer-term. There are some low-cost ideas, and some of the ideas are going to take a little more money, but … we will catalog them, we will respond back out to you, we will get the task force to continue to work through these, and we will commit to continue to be a partner with you and to listen and to follow up on a lot of these great ideas.”

By Monday, islanders were reporting via social media that dock workers at Fauntleroy were using one exit lane to load cars, a practice that is occasionally used when there is not a lot of traffic. But it wasn’t a return to the bypass lane as vehicles were not bypassing the tollbooths.

But changes are in store for the ferry system this weekend as the fall schedule will begin and fares will increase Saturday. Members of the Washington State Transportation Commission in August approved a 2.9 percent fare hike for small- and standard-sized vehicles and 0.8 to 1.8 percent for oversized vehicles depending on their length. Fares for passengers will go up 2.1 percent. Fares will rise again in October 2018: An additional 2.5 percent for small- and standard-sized vehicles and an additional 2.1 percent for passengers. Total increases will be 75 cents for vehicles and 35 cents for passengers and walk-ons. Washington State Ferries fares have gone up nearly every year since 2007.

Wednesday’s meeting was recorded by the Vashon High School Riptide and can be watched in its entirety on YouTube.