Ferry to cost another quarter
Published 4:00 pm Saturday, April 10, 2004
A long-planned 5-percent increase in fares on Washington State Ferries will take effect May 2, the same day that peak fares return for the summer season.
For Clinton/Mukilteo commuters, the 5-percent increase will add 25 cents onto the cost of a ferry ticket for a vehicle and driver, and another 20 cents for each roundtrip passenger or walk-on. That will make the non-peak cost $6 for the car and $3.40 roundtrip for passengers.
The car and driver cost for Port Townsend/Keystone commuters will also go up 25 cents, while passenger tickets will increase by 10 cents each way. The Olympic Peninsula commute will be $7.75 for the car and $2.20 each way for passengers.
The Mukilteo/Clinton fares have increased by 50 percent over the last 10 years while the Port Townsend fare is up by less than one-third.
The return of peak fares provides an incentive for the casual commuter to buy books of tickets and avoid the 20 percent summer surcharge. Although the passenger fares are unaffected, the peak season car and driver fares will jump to $7.50 for the Mukilteo/Clinton route and $9.75 for the Port Townsend ferry.
By comparison, the new cost of a book of 20 car and driver tickets for the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry will be $96, bringing the cost per trip to $4.80.
The state ferry system is increasing fares and cutting costs incrementally to meet a Washington State Transportation Commission directive to achieve 80 percent of operating costs through ticket sales by 2006. Ticket sales are currently paying for about 72 percent of operating costs system wide, said Susan Harris-Huether, ferry spokeswoman. However, the Clinton/Mukilteo route has, for several years, covered over 90 percent of its costs with revenues from ticket booths.
In addition, the ferry system is raising funds to replace four 77-year-old Steel Electric Class ferries, such as those used in the Port Townsend/Keystone route, Harris-Huether said.
To achieve these goals, Washington State Ferries is operating under a plan of making annual 5-percent fare increases, 5-percent reductions in costs, and 5-percent increases in new revenues, such as advertising and food concession sales.
