Washington State Ferries

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This page is about the ferry system operated by the state of Washington. Other entities operate other Ferries in Washington State

Washington State Ferries, owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation, serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the largest fleet of passenger and automobile ferries in the United States and the third largest in the world.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Fleet 3 Routes 4 Other ferries 5 Subculture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The ferry system has its origins in the "Mosquito Fleet", a collection of small steamer lines serving the Puget Sound area during the later part of the nineteenth century and early part of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 1930s, two lines remained: the Puget Sound Navigation Company (known as the Black Ball Line) and the Kitsap County Transportation Company. A strike in 1935 forced the KCTC to close, leaving only the Black Ball Line.^[2]

Toward the end of the 1940s the Black Ball Line wanted to increase its fares, to compensate for increased wage demands from the ferry workers' unions, but the state refused to allow this, and so the Black Ball Line shut down. In 1951, the state bought substantially all of Black Ball's ferry assets for $5 million.^[3] The state intended to run ferry service only until cross-sound bridges could be built, but these were never approved, and the Washington Department of Transportation runs the system to this day.^[2]

[edit] Fleet

As of 2007, there are 28 ferries on Puget Sound operated by the state.^[4] The largest vessels in this fleet carry up to 2500 passengers and 202 vehicles. They are painted in a distinctive white and green trim paint scheme, and feature double-ended open vehicle decks and bridges at each end so that they don't need to turn around.

Ferry classes and names are:

• Jumbo Mark II Class:
  • Puyallup
  • Tacoma
  • Wenatchee
• Jumbo Class:
  • Spokane
  • Walla Walla
• Super Class:
  • Elwah
  • Hyak
  • Kaleetan
  • Yakima
• 144 Auto Ferry (design phase in 2007)
  • multiple unnamed vessels
• Issaquah 130 Class:
  • Cathlamet
  • Chelan
  • Issaquah
  • Kitsap
  • Kittitas
• Issaquah 100 Class:
  • Sealth
• Evergreen State Class:
  • Evergreen State
  • Klahowya
  • Tillikum
• 100 Vehicle Class ferry (authorized and funded in February 2008)
  • Three unnamed vessels
• Steel Electric Class (Removed From Service November 2007):
  • Illahee
  • Klickitat
  • Nisqually
  • Quinault
• Rhododendron Class:
  • Rhododendron
• Hiyu Class:
  • Hiyu
• Passenger-Only Fast Ferry Class:
  • Chinook
  • Snohomish
• Skagit/Kalama Class ferry (Passenger-Only):
  • Kalama
  • Skagit

[edit] Routes

Most Washington State Ferry routes are legally part of the state highway system,^[5], frequently with no road portion on one end or the other.

• Downtown Seattle to Bremerton (SR 304)
• Downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island (SR 305)
• Southworth to Vashon Island to Fauntleroy (West Seattle) (SR 160)
• Point Defiance to Tahlequah (south end of Vashon Island) (SR 163)
• Clinton to Mukilteo (SR 525)
• Edmonds to Kingston (SR 104)
• Keystone to Port Townsend (State Route 20)
• Anacortes to (any or all of the following [in most common route order]) (SR 20 Spur)
  • Lopez Island
  • Shaw Island
  • Orcas Island
  • Friday Harbor (on San Juan Island)
  • Sidney, British Columbia (The service's only Canadian port-of-call)

From 1993 to the early 2000s a passenger-only service ran from Bremerton to Seattle. It was shut down because of limited profitability and because of continued lawsuits of residents living on the waterway used by the ferry to prevent the high-speed ferries built for the run from running at their full speed. The slower speed made the crossing time similar or equal to the auto ferry operating on the same route, making the passenger-only service redundant. Vashon Island to Seattle is the only passenger-only service currently operated by Washington State Ferries.^{[citation needed]} It is designated State Route 339, with no road portion at either end.

[edit] Other ferries

Main article: Ferries in Washington State

There are several other publicly operated, private, and passenger-only ferries in Washington state.

[edit] Subculture

As the largest fleet in operation in the United States, the Washington state system is substantial enough to have generated significant political issues, labor activism, and even its own minor subculture.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Ferries in Washington State
• Alaska Marine Highway
• Inter-Island Ferry Authority
• BC Ferries
• Black Ball Line
• King County Ferry District

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Washington State Ferries official homepage
• Evergreenfleet.com-- A History of Washington State Ferries Past and Present

v • d • e Washington State Ferries current fleet Jumbo Mark II Class MV Puyallup  · MV Tacoma  · MV Wenatchee Jumbo Class MV Spokane  · MV Walla Walla Super Class MV Elwha  · MV Hyak  · MV Kaleetan  · MV Yakima Issaquah 130 Class MV Cathlamet  · MV Chelan  · MV Issaquah  · MV Kitsap  · MV Kittitas Issaquah 100 Class MV Sealth Evergreen State Class MV Evergreen State  · MV Klahowya  · MV Tillikum Rhododendron Class MV Rhododendron Hiyu Class MV Hiyu Passenger-Only Fast Ferry Class MV Chinook  · MV Snohomish Skagit/Kalama Class MV Kalama  · MV Skagit

v • d • e Mass transit in the Puget Sound area Transit agencies Metro Transit • Pierce Transit • Community Transit • Sound Transit/ST Express • Everett Transit • Kitsap Transit • Intercity Transit • Island Transit • Washington State Ferries Light rail Tacoma Link • South Lake Union Streetcar • Central Link • University Link • Link Light Rail • North Link • South Link • East Link • Waterfront Streetcar Bus rapid transit Rapid Ride • SWIFT Commuter rail Sounder Monorail Seattle Center Monorail Other Orca Card Italics denote proposed or under construction lines