By Simone Carter Updated February 24, 2025 10:57 AM|
State lawmakers on Wednesday, Feb. 19 heard “The Mosquito Fleet Act,” which would increase the availability of passenger-only ferries. By TVW Retired Bremerton resident Dianne Iverson relies on the ferry system to get to medical appointments in downtown Seattle or Edmonds. On the afternoon of Feb. 19, she was among those who spoke in support of a bill in the Washington Legislature aimed at adding passenger-only ferries on Puget Sound. “There are many reasons that I, as a retired person, use the ferry system,” Iverson said, “but today I’m just going to focus on one: how to make medical appointments on time with a chaotic, unpredictable ferry service.” House Bill 1923, sponsored by state Rep. Greg Nance, seeks to ease frustrations felt by riders of Washington State Ferries, many who need to be on time for school or work. The Kitsap Democrat told the House Transportation Committee that he brought the bill as a lifelong ferry rider. And for 32 years, his dad was a daily ferry commuter. TOP VIDEOS Hundreds of thousands of Washington residents similarly depend on the ferries to put food on the table and as a “health-care lifeline,” Nance noted Feb. 19. But over the past several years, the state’s ferry system has made cuts and canceled service, causing delays and missed appointments. Small businesses in ferry-dependent communities have also closed, and consequently, some folks have missed paying their mortgage or rent on time, he said. Nance said that the state’s ferry crews are working around the clock to get the ships back in service. He also quoted Gov. Bob Ferguson: “‘When we’re facing a crisis, we’ve got to act like it’ — and we can meet this crisis with the focused urgency that it demands.” “The Mosquito Fleet Act,” Nance said, “is the fastest and cheapest way to put new boats on the water, to provide relief to neighbors in need, to bolster our maritime workforce and to prepare Washington for the World Cup stage at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.” Washington is home to the country’s largest ferry system, which transported close to 19 million passengers in 2023 on a fleet of 21 vessels across the sound and greater Salish Sea. Those who delivered comments before the committee on Feb. 19 largely spoke in favor of Nance’s bill. Amy Drayer with Islanders for Ferry Action on Vashon Island said that while new full-service ferries are years away, many residents remain disconnected from education, jobs and more. “Moving people moves our economy, it removes barriers to health care and it reduces isolation and creates community,” Drayer said. John Carson, executive director of the Bainbridge Island Downtown Association, argued that maritime transportation infrastructure is crucial for the state’s commuters and residents. It’s also a major regional economic driver. The ferry system is overworked, sparking disruptions to businesses’ sales, revenue, tax dollars and jobs, said Carson, himself a part-owner of a business. Each time a ferry is pulled off line because it needs maintenance, it leads to lost sales, he said. Staff lose work hours, too. “This goes on for all businesses in our community,” he said. “On a summer Saturday, going down to one ferry on the Seattle-to-Bainbridge route can cost our business several thousand dollars in lost sales. Now, multiply that times 80 businesses in our main street — and then multiply that times every time that happens, right?” In 2023, between mid-June and late September, the state’s ferry system called off more than 1,100 sailings, according to KNKX. Nance noted that this bill would allow the creation of passenger-only routes to assist residents of Vashon, San Juan and Whidbey islands, plus Tacoma, Seattle and beyond. He also said that nearly 750 people and organizations signed in support of HB 1923 while five others signed in against it, offering useful feedback to better the bill. Donna Sandstrom with The Whale Trail nonprofit was one of those opposed. She told the committee that the legislation lacks provisions to safeguard endangered southern resident orcas. The proposed fleet would operate in the killer whales’ core and critical habitat in central Puget Sound and San Juan Islands, Sandstrom said. Local orcas in recent months found it easier to catch food, partly because of successful efforts to cut back on noise and other disturbances. “This bill will create chaos for these whales,” Sandstrom said. The Mosquito Fleet Act creates a grant program for passenger-only ferries with funding to obtain and operate these vessels starting July 1. The bill would broaden the kinds of entities that can form a passenger-only ferry service district, such as water-bordering counties, port districts and city transit systems, among others. A fiscal note has been requested for the bill, which “follows the $80 million in new funding appropriated in the 2024 supplemental transportation budget,” according to a Feb. 7 news release.