Bad news for ferry commuters this weekend. The Washington State Ferries said Friday morning that due to a shortage of available crew, the Edmonds/Kingston ferry route will likely not have a second vessel and be on one-boat alternate service Saturday and Sunday, July 16-17.
“Customers traveling by vehicle are encouraged to plan ahead and give themselves extra travel time, as they may encounter long waits with local events happening in the area that will likely increase traffic on the route,” the ferry service said in an alert. “Passengers may want to consider alternate routes or walking on to avoid lengthy waits at the terminal.”
Should a second boat become available for the route, the ferry system will send additional updates. Customers can also check the online schedule for more information on scheduled sailings and also view the real-time travel map for live boat location information.
I do not understand why staffing is so difficult? It is a good job with I would imagine good pay and good benefits? So why? Could someone explain this to me? If I were one wanting to use this Ferry I would drive around. It would be just as fast as waiting on a weekend it sounds like to me. It is a pretty drive too. I have used our Fairy System many time especially with visitors or if I wanted to go over for Breakfast Etc. So lets fill those jobs somehow! Surely their are people who need work here that are making much less than at their current jobs? I keep reading Federal that says many jobs but still many not working? Why is this? Just some questions I would love to see addressed locally. Thanks. I took my niece from Iowa on the Ferry from here once and we had a 3 pod Orca group follow us right by the boat it was so beautiful watching them.
Short staffing is due in large part, to the State mandate of ALL staff being fully vaccinated, even deck hands that are mostly outside and never interact with anyone. If they do not get the shots, they are fired. Also, a lot of staff are able to retire, so are taking that option opposed the shots. Then there is the training aspect which takes quite a while. There is also is the fact that new hire deckhands must be ‘on-call’ and most younger folks that might be interested in taking the position decide against it due to the erratic hours.
Boat Pilots are typically older. The years of training it requires to pilot a boat are many and it is quite difficult to replace them when they retire, there just is no pool of replacements. Even the Mechanics are leaving and again, this is not a trade that a lot of young people are learning.
I happen to know someone that works for Ferries and it is becoming quite a frustrating mess.
Just pray the one boat is the Spokane and not the Issaquah