Washington State Ferries will temporarily operate reduced sailing schedules on most routes beginning this Saturday, Oct. 16. The change will help offer more predictable and reliable service systemwide in the face of crewing shortages due to a global shortage of mariners that has been worsened by the pandemic, the ferry system said.
The following changes to service will begin this weekend:
• Seattle/Bainbridge, Edmonds/Kingston and Mukilteo/Clinton: One-boat service instead of two
• Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth: Daily two-boat schedule instead of three
• Anacortes/San Juan Islands: Daily three-boat schedule instead of four with no vehicle reservations
The updated schedules that will begin on Saturday are currently listed as “inactive” on the schedule page online and will become active this weekend when they begin.
Reservations for San Juan Islands Route
In an effort to accommodate customers affected by the service change who still need to travel, new reservations for travel in the San Juan Islands has been closed until further notice. The suspension is intended to leave capacity for those who were on cancelled sailings who still need to travel. Customers with reservations for sailings no longer in service will be given priority on other sailings and loaded on a first-come, first-served basis. Existing reservation holders whose sailings were not affected should still plan on arriving to their departing terminal at least 45 minutes before their scheduled sailing.
Customers who choose not to travel during this time will not incur a fee. Those passengers who need to travel standby without a reservation may encounter delays and should get to the terminal early, the ferry system said.
National News stories, including some AP, have this related to the vaccine mandates.
We included that as a possible contributing factor in the story we wrote last week: https://myedmondsnews.com/2021/10/edmonds-kingston-route-down-to-one-boat-service-as-ferry-system-experiences-crew-shortages/
Duh. (no offense intended Matt)
The Biden & Inslee mandates of the Trump vaccines are forcing people to make difficult choices.
I applaud the ferry, health care, and airline workers who are standing up. They are risking their livelihoods to stand up for liberty. I am personally effected, like many of you, by these decisions. I have a business on San Juan Island that is dependent on tourists being able to get to the island by ferry. Revenue was severely cut last year by mandated closures. But there will be far greater risk to business and autonomy if people do not stand up to this government overreach. Losses now are far less impactful than giving up liberty for generations to come. Think beyond the present problems. This is not about keeping people safe from a virus. Members of congress are not mandated to take the shot. People streaming over the border are not tested or mandated to take the shot. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
Thank you to all you who collectively stand together and say no! Because eventually these liberty grabs will effect everyone in ways you do not anticipate. Wake up! It’s not about a virus. If you want the shot, take it. If someone doesn’t, it’s none of your business. It is unconstitutional to impose on citizens’ property, including their bodies and their children.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
Benjamin Franklin
A man whose words resonate so appropriately today! These words may come to haunt us.
Bette
It is a fascinating and curious cultural phenomenon that this is the issue, and this is the time, when we decide our liberties are being infringed and the future of our society is in jeopardy. A few of the things we have adopted in my lifetime, due to legal and regulatory requirements, to protect our safety and the safety of those around us:
Seatbelts
Car seats for children
Smoking bans in public places
Protective clothing for chemotherapy infusion nurses
Lead vests when we get dental x-rays
Kevlar vests for police
Hard hats and safety glasses in some work environments
Motorcycle (and bicycle) helmets
Life vests for marine crew and dock workers
Firefighters – increasingly protective clothing and breathing apparatus
Ventilation requirements for people working with some chemicals
The list goes on and on… And yet this is the issue, and this is the time, we have decided that our liberties are at risk over a scientifically proven way to protect our health and that of the community. It is a bit of a head scratcher.