by Kathryn N. Barnard
Sounder correspondent
Washington State Ferries made rounds to all the islands last week to preview results of the reservation system that debuted this year.
The numbers are preliminary, but WSF representatives said at an Orcas town hall meeting on Oct. 15 that ridership from this year increased by 3.2 percent overall, even with the loss of one vessel in early spring, which reduced potential riders by approximately 18 percent. Use of the ferry reservation system accounted for 59 percent of riders in February and continued to increase to 83 percent by the end of August.
There was also an increase of 5.2 percent in passengers. It is possibly because the reservation system makes some believe they have to make a reservation to get on the ferry, so when they cannot get a reservation they decide to walk on instead. This issue was addressed by Reservations Program Manager Brian Churchwell, who stated that the 10 percent standby spots for vehicles may not be enough to reduce the risk some feel when they cannot make a reservation but urged people who can arrive early to utilize these spots.
This is one of the changes that was brought before residents at the meeting. In San Juan County, 56 percent of the respondents of the voluntary survey sent to reservation system users stated they were satisfied with the reservation program.
As in earlier reports by the Sounder, the reservation system is not going away; the legislative directive being to make better use of resources and shift vehicle traffic to under-utilized sailings. Director of Community Services and Planning Kristina Arsenault said responses to the survey are being taken seriously.
Based on feedback, 7 percent of the reservations are not used, taking space away from those wanting to make reservations. Then, because the standby option is perceived as a risk, vessels are sailing with space left.
Attendees said that one part of the perceived risk would be mitigated if ferry workers were able to state how many spaces in standby were available with confidence. Reservations not used within the day have been linked to those making “insurance” reservations and willing to forgo the $10 no-show fee by making multiple reservations for their trip and not cancelling them before 5 p.m. the day before the scheduled sailing.
In order to reduce this unpredictability and make the reservation system work better for the local community and the tourists, three issues and options were put on the table.
• Change the no-show fee from $10 to $15 or even charge the full fare ($26.85 to Orcas Island from Anacortes).
• Change the cancellation policy from 5 p.m. the day before to a sliding incentive policy where cancelling two days ahead would have no charge and the charge would increase as one gets closer to the sailing time.
• The biggest complaint, it seemed, was on the tiered release. Complaints included: too complex, unable to meet demand, cannot make a round-trip, 7 a.m. is too early and stressful to be waiting online or on the phone for the release. The call center has seen a 95 percent call increase, resulting in increased wait time on the phone.
Many options were presented, including the current release of 30 percent, 2 months; 30 percent, 2, weeks; 30 percent, 2 days and 10 percent standby as well as a new scenario of 20 percent standby (to lower the risk if unable to make a reservation) and 80 percent released two months prior.
Concerns with the latter are that the tourists would take up all the reservations in May and June or the rest of the summer. Other possibilities include a 50-30-20 standby and a 3-month, 3-week, 3-day option. All options were voted on by attendees and results from this and similar meetings on Lopez, Sand Juan, and Shaw islands will be considered before making any changes.
In an attempt to keep the dialogue going, Trevor Sharp, the Anacortes Terminal Manager, insisted that changes will be made that will “Work for locals and support tourism.”
While the reservation system is still not favored by some individuals, it seems that businesses that are far from the ferry are seeing an increase in sales because those leaving the island are more relaxed and do not have to get in line hours before the scheduled departure. Businesses at the ferry landing have shown some reduction in sales, but many riders appreciate not waiting much more than 30 minutes.
At the end of the meeting, it was evident that some unfortunate instances are still fueling the dissent for the reservation system, and WSF has stated that resolving these personal injustices is a priority.
There are also plans in the works to get WIFI at the ferry landings and a third party will be re-creating the website to account for user issues. The hospitality industry maintains the reservation system may have damaged “last minute” travelers seen in the past and caused more hotel reservation cancellations by those traveling from outside the western corridor who are nervous about obtaining reservations.
According to WSF representatives, now that peak tourist season is over, local residents will have a much easier time obtaining the reservations they desire (online or by phone), but there is still work to do with the tiered release system to account for planned, commercial and last-minute trips.
