Reservations for San Juans ferries in Phase II WSF recommendations

WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES

Final Vehicle Reservation Predesign Study

WSF looking at 5 alternatives to reservation implementation

posted 01/12/2010
The five alternatives to implementing reservations on the Washington Ferry routes begin with upgrading the current systems on the Anacortes/Sidney B.C. route and the Port Townsend/Keystone route. The Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division released Final Vehicle Reservation Predesign Study Monday, Jan. 11, 2010.

Under the preferred alternative (number 4) implementation of reservations for non-commercial vehicles on the San Juans/Anacortes route would take place after the initial deployment is fully tested. The estimate for completing testing of the initial phase is Fall 2012. The commercial reservation systems in place for commercial vehicles and all traffic to Sidney, B.C. will be converted to the new system in the first phase in all the alternatives.

Alternative 1: Industry Standard Package Upgrades to Routes that Currently Offer Reservations. WSF currently operates a basic reservation system on three routes, Anacortes/Sidney, Port Townsend-Keystone, and commercial reservations for the San Juan Islands. Alternative 1 would upgrade the current reservation system with an industry standard reservation package that encourages online bookings. It would be linked to the current ticketing system and would include enhanced communication around general travel-related information.

Alternative 2: Alternative 1 plus Expanding Reservations to San Juan Islands vehicle trips and Commercial Reservations System-Wide. This alternative would build on Alternative 1 by expanding reservations from commercial customers to all service on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands routes (except Interisland). Commercial reservations would be made available on all routes throughout the system.

Alternative 3: Alternative 2 plus Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Communication. This alternative would develop and build a regional ITS communication system comprised of variable messaging signage, highway advisory radio, and web cameras to notify customers at key travel decision points of congestion at terminals and service disruptions. Alternative 3 would reduce congestion by helping customers make better decisions about which routes and sailings to take and directing them to less congested terminals. An effective real-time communication system that works on a large scale is a key factor for successful implementation of reservations in the Central Sound, and must therefore be in place before reservations are extended to additional routes.

Alternative 4: Alternative 3 plus Reservations Extended to Seattle – Bremerton, Seattle – Bainbridge, and Edmonds - Kingston. This alternative makes reservations available for all vehicle traffic on routes where terminal facilities are determined to be adequate (in the case of Edmonds, with minor modifications) to support reservations. All Central Sound routes have been included in order to prevent a shifting of traffic that could potentially occur if one or two Central Sound routes had a reservation system and one or two routes did not.

Alternative 5: Alternative 4 plus Extend Full Reservations to All Routes. This option includes implementation of a reservation system for all customers in the system by adding the Vashon Island and Southworth routes plus Mukilteo/Clinton.

The business rules for the reservation system will include:

Up to 90% of the vessel available for reservations during peak and commute periods; minimum of 50% of the vessel available for reservations during off-peak periods. The share of the boat available for reservations during peak times would be phased in over time, with the share starting much lower and gradually increasing as customers adapt to the new system. Ultimately the share will depend on when congestion at terminals is mitigated, which could be at levels below 90%.
Reservations on commute period sailings made available 4 weeks in advance, all other sailings available up to 6 months in advance to provide extra incentives for customers with schedule flexibility to reserve non-commute period sailings.
To address concerns that reservations will favor tourists over residents of ferry communities, there will be two priority access programs to provide regular users with space on all sailings. One will focus on commercial customers while the other on non-commercial regular and frequent users.
Regular reservations (non-priority access) will require pre-payment of fare.
There will be no extra fee for reservations.
There will be flexibility to change or cancel reservations at no charge, though cancelation fees might apply in some cases.
Customers would need to arrive between 15 and 30 minutes before departure to guarantee their spot on the sailing. During peak periods, a customer arriving late could lose their reservation and be directed to the drive-up queue.

Update on WSF reservation plans

In his weekly update David Moseley, assisant Secretary for Washington State Ferries, referred to WSF's plans which state: If the Legislature were to approve and fund vehicle reservations, routes with existing reservations systems (Anacortes/Sidney, B.C and Port Townsend/Keystone) would be upgraded to the new technology identified in the vehicle reservations pre-design report. WSF will coordinate with the Anacortes FAC and the Port Townsend/Keystone Partnership before these changes are made.

Other news media has reported that the entire Anacortes/San Juans route will be the first route converted to a reservation system. The plan calls for the Anacortes/San Juans route to be done in the second phase which is scheduled to be completed by 2014.

Before implemententing a reservation plan for a route WSF works with the community in order to tailor the system to address local concerns. An Edmonds/Kingston Partnership Group was formed, bringing together representatives from different customer groups (commuters, regular riders, tourism interests, commercial and freight), as well as representatives from Ferry Advisory Committees, ports, and cities in the Edmonds and Kingston areas.

The San Juan County Council agreed Tuesday, Jan. 12 with Councilmember Howie Rosenfeld to have the Ferry Advisory Committee serve as the group interacting with WSF regarding reservations. Councilmember Bob Myhr said if there were a need later for more input that could be done.

At the joig nt Town of Friday Harbor/San Juwn County County councils' meeting at noon Tuesday, the council's agreed with Rosenfeld's suggestion that he and Mayor Carrie Lachner be the go-betweens for the county and the town and the WSF.

Reservations for San Juans ferries in Phase II WSF recommendations

posted 12/19/2009
Vehicle Reservation System Predesign Study by Washington State Ferries recommends a reservation system for almost all of its ferry routes including the Anacortes/San Juans. The switch to a reservation system would save WSF $290 million and "will reduce queuing and congestion without major terminal and vessel investments and provide enhanced customer service and increased travel predictability" according to the report.

The savings come from minimizing the need for terminal and vessel expansion projects. The reservation system is estimated to cost $25 million to develop.

The Anacortes/San Juans route is included in Phase II which takes effect in 2011-2014. Inter island traffic would not be included. Proposed improvements to the ferry terminals include: Highway advisory radio, three web cameras and traffic management signs at Friday Harbor; ferry advisory radio, highway advisory radio and traffic management signs at Anacortes; ferry advisory radio, highway advisory radio, two web cameras and traffic management signs for Lopez Island; and ferry advisory radio, highway advisory radio and two web cameras for Orcas Island.

The goals of the program are:

1: The reservation system needs to benefit customers by being easy to use, work for all customer types, provide travel flexibility.
2: The Reservation system needs to benefit ferry communities by reducing vehicle queues outside terminals, improving traffic flow around terminals and reducing travel uncertainty for visitors.
3: Reservations need to benefit WSF by supporting demand management objectives, maximize the use of existing assets, integrate with fare collection and offer opportunities to increase ridership.

The report states: WSF will gradually roll out and implement the reservation system, with purposeful phasing that allows for testing, education, and outreach as reservations become available on each route. WSF may also choose to implement reservations gradually on individual routes, by offering reservations first to a certain customer group (like commercial customers), for a limited number of sailings (like weekends only), or by making a small percentage of vessel capacity available. During the rollout process, the Legislature will have two major decision points, at which times it can evaluate the benefits and success of the reservation system in its funding decisions.

Community involvement in developing the reservation system on their local route is planned. WSF will organize a Partnership Group for that route as a mechanism to engage key local stakeholders in the decision-making process. These groups would meet to evaluate how the system should work on their route, comment on terminal modifications/vehicle processing changes and review business rule phasing.

Partnership Groups were used in developing the reservation system for the Port Townsend route and are being used in developing the system for the Edmonds route.

The report is available online:

editor@sanjuanislander.com

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