(WSB photo from April 23)
Exactly two months after news that King County would take possession of the Spirit of Kingston and put it on the West Seattle Water Taxi run – the change is about to happen. We just got word from the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott that Spirit of Kingston will take over the run starting tomorrow (Saturday), which means that, after three years, 25-year-old Rachel Marie will become a backup boat. Kingston got the 7-year-old SoK through federal grants but scrapped its foot-ferry service and would have had to pay the grants back if this transfer – which brings the boat here almost for free, as explained in our November report – hadn’t happened. More to come.

ADDED 1:39 PM: The county’s official announcement has just arrived via e-mail – read on:

The King County Ferry District’s new vessel, Spirit of Kingston, will make her inaugural trip to West Seattle from downtown Seattle’s Pier 50 at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18.

The 65-foot catamaran recently joined the King County Ferry District’s fleet of water taxis after being acquired at no cost through an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The King County Ferry District was able to acquire the FTA funded vessel after its former operator, Port of Kingston, discontinued service to Seattle last fall.

In addition to improved service reliability, the acquisition will help the district reduce operational costs. The district estimates it will save more than $425,000 on lease and rental expenses over the next five years.

“Water taxi riders will benefit from increased reliability as the Kingston sets sail. This is another example of the District’s efforts to work efficiently and provide dependable service for the thousands of riders who rely on the water taxi to get to work, school or play,” said Joe McDermott, chair of the King County Ferry District.

Since acquiring the eight-year old vessel earlier this year, the Ferry District’s Marine Division has been performing crew training and modifying the boarding area to accommodate passenger loading. The vessel also recently underwent a complete U.S. Coast Guard inspection.

The vessel carries up to 147 passengers and will replace the Rachel Marie, an older leased vessel that has been providing service between West Seattle’s Seacrest Park and the downtown Seattle waterfront since April, 2010. The Rachel Marie will now serve as a back-up when other vessels are out of service for maintenance or repairs. A third boat, the Melissa Ann, provides weekday service between Vashon Island and downtown Seattle.

The district contracts with the King County Department of Transportation’s Marine Division to provide passenger-only ferry service.

6:07 PM: And – Rachel Marie has returned to service, leaving downtown a short time ago, the county has now announced.

This is our closest look yet at Spirit of Kingston, the future West Seattle Water Taxi vessel, since the King County Marine Division took possession last month – it’s been parked behind a fence at the county’s also-new maintenance barge while crews have been in training, but today we happened to be at Seacrest during one of its test runs. We’re checking with the county Department of Transportation to see if there’s an update on when it’ll be put into service to replace the older and breakdown-prone Rachel Marie.

Reminder that the West Seattle Water Taxi starts its spring/summer/fall schedule tomorrow, which means not only 7-day-a-week operation, but also the return of midday runs, since the winter schedule only handles the morning and afternoon commutes. You can see the new schedule here. But don’t expect to see the newly acquired vessel Spirit of Kingston tomorrow; county reps told WSB earlier this week that crew members are training and other work is under way before they put it into service to replace Rachel Marie (shown above in a WSB file photo).

(Tuesday photo by Don Brubeck)
The future West Seattle Water Taxi vessel Spirit of Kingston has been spotted out on at least one test run since arriving at its new home port last week. But while the King County Department of Transportation’s Marine Division was at one point expecting to launch it on the run when the 7-day-a-week schedule takes effect next week, we’re told it won’t happen quite so fast – according to KCDOT and the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who chairs the county Ferry District Board, they will delay the debut a while, possibly a few weeks, for training. The spring/summer/fall schedule still launches on Monday, though – and you can see it here.

The new West Seattle Water Taxi vessel Spirit of Kingston has arrived on the downtown waterfront and is docked alongside the county’s new maintenance barge. (We noticed it late Friday via MarineTraffic.com, though it’s now listed as “out of range.”) This is the only view we could get today, but you’ll surely see it out and about soon, since it’s scheduled to take over the West Seattle-downtown run by the time the 7-day-a-week schedule kicks in on Monday, April 8th. Spirit of Kingston’s capacity is slightly less than the run’s current vessel, Rachel Marie, but based on ridership averages, that won’t be an issue till the heart of summer, if then. The 8-year-old catamaran was originally purchased for its namesake town with the help of federal grants, and that’s why it could be transferred here basically for free, since Kingston cut its passenger-ferry service and didn’t need it any more. King County, meantime, will use federal grants to pay for two brand-new boats that will start construction soon.

(Photo courtesy King County Ferry Board chair Joe McDermott’s office)
One week ago, we reported on the King County Ferry Board’s Executive Committee agreeing to accept the Spirit of Kingston and the recommendation that it take over the West Seattle Water Taxi run once it arrives. This afternoon, the county announced the Ferry Board has finalized the deal, and the move should happen when 7-day-a-week service resumes in a few weeks:

The Spirit of Kingston, the 65-foot catamaran that once ferried passengers between Kingston and Seattle, is about to become part of the King County Ferry District’s fleet of water taxis. The District unanimously voted today to acquire the eight year-old vessel at no purchase cost through an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – the agency that originally provided grant funding to the Port of Kingston to purchase the vessel.

“This is an exciting day for transit in our region. The Spirit of Kingston will help increase reliability of our water taxi service and help to ensure that riders can get where they’re going as planned. The Spirit of Kingston will address many of the service disruptions we experience,” said Joe McDermott, Chair of the King County Ferry District.

The Port of Kingston discontinued ferry service last fall. The decision to cease operations provided the King County Ferry District with the opportunity to acquire the vessel due to the FTA’s previous $2 million investment.

The Spirit of Kingston is expected to start sailing with the summer season in early April 2013. The vessel can carry up to 147 passengers and will replace the Rachel Marie, a leased vessel which currently provides service between West Seattle and downtown Seattle. The Rachel Marie will then serve as a back-up when the other vessels are out of service for maintenance or repairs.

In addition to improved service reliability, the acquisition will help the district reduce operational costs. The district estimates it will save more than $425,000 on lease and rental expenses over the next five years.

“The acquisition of The Spirit of Kingston will not only provide increased reliability for the riders of the water taxi, but it will also save money for the Ferry District. We now have a backup vessel which will cut down on our need to rent boats when one of our other boats needs maintenance or repair,” said King County Ferry District Vice-Chair Larry Gossett.

Next step for the Ferry District, as also reported in our update last week, is to seek bids to build two new boats for the West Seattle and Vashon water-taxi runs.

The Ferry District board chair, West Seattle’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott, shared the view from his office as the county’s new maintenance and moorage barge arrived from Tacoma – that’s it on the center-left side of the photo. It’s 40′ by 120′ and was built mostly in Portland, then towed to Tacoma for the final phase of work. It has a few more weeks of work to go, hooking up utilities and so on, before it’s ready for use.

This afternoon, the Ferry Board’s executive committee approved the letter we mentioned this morning, officially accepting the transfer of the Spirit of Kingston, no longer needed after a passenger run ended between Seattle and Kingston. It’s an 8-year-old, 65-foot catamaran that was at first proposed to be used as a Water Taxi backup, though, checking Ferry District meeting records, we note Marine Division staff recommended that it become the primary West Seattle vessel. (We’ll check on where that stands.)

The two older boats on the West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi runs don’t have to hang on too much longer; the executive committee also was briefed this afternoon on the county’s plan to put out RFPs (requests for proposals) by month’s end for two new aluminum catamarans with capacity up to 250 passengers. An earlier step in the process drew qualified responses from Bellingham’s All American Marine and a team led by Seattle’s Kvichak Marine, according to the newest Water Taxi newsletter. If the process proceeds as planned, the first boat may be delivered in the third quarter of next year, with the second one a few months later. The current boats are leased, not owned.

(August 2011 photo of Spirit of Kingston at Seattle dock, by Oran Viriyincy, via Flickr)
Two notes this morning about the King County Ferry District, the agency responsible for the Water Taxi. First, its board’s Executive Committee meets this afternoon, and will consider a resolution to formalize and finalize bringing the Spirit of Kingston (backstory here and here) into the fleet as a virtually free backup.

Second – the Legislature is considering a bill, co-sponsored by local State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, that would kill the Ferry District (as well as the county Flood Control District) and consolidate operations into the rest of county government. But that’s a good thing, local County Councilmember Joe McDermott tells WSB:

Yes, the Ferry District consolidation is something that I very much support. Both as the Chair of King County’s budget committee as well as the Chair of the Ferry District, I am always looking for ways to provide more efficient and cost effective service to County residents.

The “fiscal note” for the bill says it would save $400,000, which McDermott explained:

As a special district government, the Ferry District is required to have our own administrative services separate from the County’s. The operation of the water taxi is provided through a contract with the King County Marine Division, but the administrative functions are the District’s responsibility. These services include contracted legal, financial, policy and communications. Additional costs also include miscellaneous items such as rent for office space and insurance.

Consolidation will eliminate the need for these contracts. The King County Department of Transportation will be able to utilize the resources already available to help with the administration of the District. I also believe our clients will be better served through consolidation. For example, the resources of DOT will be readily available to help provide seamless communication and marketing in a way that the District has been unable to do to date.

With the District operating on unsustainable funding, any savings will help to keep the water taxi operable. Since I have been Chair of the Ferry District, I have supported consolidation efforts. A similar bill was introduced last year and made it through the House. It had the votes in the Senate but when the Senate budget coup happened the clock ran out. In fact, it was just a few bills away from being considered by the full Senate when the coup happened.

I am pleased that the bill passed the House unanimously … and I’m hopeful we will see similar support in the Senate.

Following HB 1324′s first Senate reading today, you can track its progress here.

P.S. The Water Taxi’s 7-day-a-week schedule is only four weeks away, starting on April 8th.

P.S. 7-day-a-week WT service resumes April 8th.

Due to a mechanical issue on the Rachel Marie Tuesday night, there will be no water taxi service on the West Seattle route for Wednesday morning, February 13. Normal service will resume beginning with the 3:45 pm departure on Wednesday afternoon from Pier 50.

(WSB file photo of the West Seattle Water Taxi, May 2011)
There’s scheduling news from today’s meeting of the King County Ferry District Board – county councilmembers wearing their marine hats, overseeing West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi operations. First, one small tweak that local families say will make a big difference; second, a big-picture commitment that should be a relief to local professional sports fans. Details on both, ahead:

First, the “small tweak” comes with some backstory.

Last fall, a local mom named Julie cc’d us on an e-mail campaign she and dozens of other local families had launched, to ask that the Water Taxi’s mid-afternoon sailing stay at 3:45 pm in the spring/summer, the same time that afternoon sailings start in the fall/winter. The families have kids who go to school downtown and get out around 3; they can make it to Pier 50 for the 3:45 run, but the 3:30 run is cutting it close. Once Julie found out there was no operational reason for the change between seasons – that it was “random” – she requested that it stay the same. And so, the Ferry Board approved the tweak today, agreeing on the value of keeping “a consistent schedule,” as West Seattle’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott – who chairs the Ferry District Board – put it when we contacted him to confirm this.

He added in his reply that the board also today “adopted a formal policy as we said we would late last year regarding game-day service. The policy states: ‘It shall be the policy of the King County Ferry District to extend its Sunday through Thursday summer schedule of service for the West Seattle water taxi service to accommodate game day end times for professional sporting events at Safeco Field and CenturyLink Stadium with game end times later than the regular schedule of service.” While the Water Taxi generally has made those runs during the spring/summer season, it hasn’t previously been a formal policy – now it is. (Read the official document here.)

(P.S. Before you ask – yes, we asked; way too soon to say whether that policy will be expanded to include the expected future basketball arena.)

One thing that occurred to us shortly after noticing those numbers: October marked the launch of the RapidRide C Line and the restructuring of other West Seattle bus routes, including a cut in service on Route 37, which serves the West Seattle waterfront. West Seattle’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott chairs the WT-overseeing King County Ferry District Board; legislative assistant Michelle Allison acknowledges that could be part of the reason:

The Ferry District and the Marine Division have been working to better understand these numbers as well. There are a couple of reasons why we think the ridership has taken a bit of a dip.

The first is that during 2011 we experienced a significant jump in ridership beginning in October with the viaduct closure – who could forget Viadoom. October of 2011 there was a 141% increase over the October 2010 ridership, November saw a 277% increase and December a 260% increase. When comparing the 2012 numbers, it is certainly not realistic to think that the increases from 2011 were going to be sustainable over the long haul. We have, however, retained a good portion of those riders when compared to 2010.

The second factor is, as you noted, the implementation of the RapidRide C. We think that some of our ridership is finding that commute option more to their liking. These two factors may account for some of the lower ridership numbers for West Seattle during the last quarter of 2012. The good news is that total 2012 West Seattle ridership was up 15.4% for the year compared to 2011. A total of just under 250,000 riders compared to 216,000 in 2011.

As you wrote about in October, the Board approved a schedule change for the morning run. There is now a 6:15 run which we hope will better accommodate the early commuters. We also hope to better communicate our service to West Seattle and area residents in the coming year.

The winter schedule continues through April 7th; note that the Water Taxi will not be in service on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day on January 21st, one week from next Monday.

(August 2011 photo of Spirit of Kingston at Seattle dock, by Oran Viriyincy, via Flickr)
Two weeks ago, we reported on the King County Ferry District‘s move to express interest in a federally funded boat no longer needed by its current owners. We’ve just followed up on the status of the Spirit of Kingston’s future – and it appears the boat is an almost sure bet to come be part of the King County Water Taxi system.

The Kitsap Sun reports that the Spirit of Kingston – which discontinued the Kingston-Seattle foot-ferry service for which it procured the boat – has passed a resolution to transfer it to King County. Transferring it means the Port of Kingston won’t have to pay back the $2 million-plus in federal grants that paid for the boat, which is slightly smaller, and much newer (7 years vs. almost 25 years). Now, King County just has to finalize the deal; that won’t happen before the first of the year, according to Michelle Allison, legislative assistant to County Councilmember Joe McDermott, chair of the King County Ferry District Board. She says he has formally sent the board-authorized letter of interest to the Federal Transit Administration, and a meeting between King County Marine Division and FTA is coming up, but one more KC Ferry Board vote is needed “to finalize the asset transfer.” The date for that is not yet set. As noted in our report from last month, the Spirit of Kingston would likely be used as a backup to both King County’s current leased boats and its future new boats (which also are being funded with federal grant money).