(September 26 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
A week and a half after the downtown crash that damaged the Rachel Marie badly enough that it’ll be off the West Seattle run of the King County Water Taxi for weeks, if not months, we’ve got an update from King County Councilmember Jan Drago. In an “op-ed” essay, she reveals she’s told the county to “contract with Argosy Cruises to deliver, without interruption, West Seattle Water Taxi service” – since the crash, Argosy’s Sightseer, which used to run the route till the county took it over, has handled weekday service. Read on for Drago’s full essay:

Safety—it’s a word the King County Ferry District takes very seriously. It has been and continues to be at the heart of everything we do and it’s at the forefront of all the things we’re doing in response to the collision that occurred two weeks ago on our West Seattle route.

It was an unfortunate accident, and no doubt a harrowing experience for the passengers on board the Rachel Marie, and I am very thankful that the few passengers who sustained injuries were tended to promptly and professionally and that there were no life-threatening injuries. The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a very careful and thorough investigation of the accident, and we are fully committed to cooperating and assisting in every way necessary. The safety of our passengers is paramount, and we will make any changes necessary to help prevent this kind of accident from occurring again.

In the meantime, both the West Seattle and Vashon water taxi services continue for the hundreds of passengers that count on this transportation option every day. As Chair of the Ferry District, I have instructed the King County Department of Transportation Marine Division to contract with Argosy Cruises to deliver, without interruption, West Seattle Water Taxi service. I’ve further instructed the Marine Division to explore other cost-effective and efficient options for the continuation of services until the Rachel Marie returns.

Clearly these are special, temporary circumstances, and continuing the West Seattle service with a replacement boat does have some added cost. While Argosy provides a replacement boat and crew for now, Marine Division crewmembers continue to collect fares and provide customer service, as well as many other tasks and duties behind the scenes as we work through the investigation, assess the damage, and arrange for repairs to the Rachel Marie. We’re working hard, but also working smart, providing quality service in the most cost-effective way possible and constantly searching for further efficiencies until normal service can resume.

As we look to the future, we’re on a path to emerge from this incident with lessons learned and a reinvigorated focus on the Ferry District’s core mission: safe, reliable, efficient service that gives taxpayers the best bang for their buck. We’re already saving over half a million dollars annually by consolidating both the West Seattle and Vashon routes under one operating contract with the King County Marine Division. We also have secured several million dollars in grants to build new state-of-the-art, safe, efficient, clean and comfortable ferries that the taxpayers of King County will own, which means further savings down the road by eliminating vessel leasing costs. Other grants already secured will allow us to run year-round service for West Seattle starting November 1, with scheduling details announced in the coming days. And finally, we’re hard at work scrubbing next year’s budget for every possible savings, because in today’s economic climate, every penny counts!

The King County Ferry District remains committed to providing a safe and reliable transportation option for regional commuters, and we’re on course to make our water taxis a smart, efficient service you can count on.

The King County Ferry District is a special purpose government created to provide passenger ferry service in King County. The Ferry District’s Board of Supervisors is composed of the members of the King County Council. The King County Marine Division operates the service under the name King County Water Taxi.

WSB note: The Water Taxi sponsors the WSB Traffic page.