On the day the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle-Downtown Seattle run switched to its warm-season schedule – with blue sky and sunshine in abundance – it was the perfect day to ride roundtrip with the County Councilmember who now chairs the Ferry District Board and is about to take over its Executive Committee as well, for a talk about the service’s future.

Councilmember Joe McDermott of West Seattle brought King County Marine Division director Scott Davis as we rode roundtrip to and from downtown at noontime. Longer story in the works, but a few toplines here; both feel strongly that the county’s marine operations have come out of a rocky year stronger than ever, in terms of leadership and operations. The latter still has a hole to fill; when the Ferry District Board has its quarterly meeting next week, Councilmember McDermott says, they’ll be reviewing proposals they’ve received for executive-director services – which he foresees will be filled with a consultant-type contract, rather than a full-time employee.

Later in the year, longterm finances for the Ferry District need to be settled, with another look at its levy rate, which is currently less than 10 percent of what it originally was. And Marine Division leadership is currently evaluating a report on potential criteria for the boats it plans to have built (with millions in federal funding available for the project). But bottom line – for those who thought the Water Taxi was on the ropes because of recent controversies from the downtown crash (final report’s not out yet) to thefts (Davis says security policies have been tightened) to operating costs (also tightened, and farebox receipts, McDermott says, are up) – the county insists that, with transit part of its core mission, the Water Taxi is here to stay. (Remember it’s running late tonight for the M’s home opener – here’s the schedule.) More in the longer story.

(WSB photo of Rachel Marie @ Seacrest Pier on Thursday morning)
If you’re going to the Mariners’ home opener tomorrow night, don’t forget that the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle-Downtown Seattle run is an option for getting there and back. That’s because tomorrow is the day the Water Taxi launches its spring/summer schedule, which means adding midday and weekend runs back to the plan. You can see the full schedule here. It includes special evening service to Mariners and Sounders home games through October 30th, according to the county. As for the shuttle buses, here’s how their changes are explained:

Shuttle routes 773 and 775 will remain in service through the afternoon/evening commute period, but will not serve any arrivals or departures into West Seattle past 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. However, Sunday shuttle service will be extended to serve passengers taking the final 8 p.m. Water Taxi trip from downtown Seattle.

This is the first year the Water Taxi has run year-round – since last fall, it’s been on a weekday-commute-times-only schedule.

Just in from King County:

The King County Water Taxi West Seattle route will resume service Monday morning, March 28 on the regular schedule. The Rachel Marie has been repaired.

It was taken out of service at midday last Tuesday, with no replacement.

3:27 PM: Just in from King County:

Service on the West Seattle Water Taxi is cancelled this afternoon because the Rachel Marie [WSB file photo at left] is undergoing repairs. Service will not resume before next Monday, March 28. Passengers should watch for service updates later in the week and over the weekend via the Water Taxi website and subscriber alerts.

… and, of course, here. ADDED 4:05 PM: Linda Thielke with county DOT says the problem was discovered yesterday; the decision for “more extensive repairs” was made today. ADDED 4:18 PM: Matt Reichmann with county DOT answered our question about exactly what’s wrong:

*A small fracture was discovered in the hull of the Rachel Marie below the waterline. The King County Marine Division, in coordination with the Coast Guard, have developed a repair plan to repair the vessel’s aluminum hull plating in way of the fracture. This work will require the Rachel Marie to be put up in dry-dock and be taken out of service through at least the end of this week. …We don’t know when it happened. It was discovered after Monday’s commute and temporary repairs were made for this morning.

We also asked why the Rachel Marie wasn’t being replaced with an Argosy vessel, as it had been for much of the time after last year’s crash; the county says that was investigated but is “not feasible” for this week.

(Photo from earlier this month, by Christopher Boffoli)
The Melissa Ann‘s been fixed and that means as of now, both the Vashon and West Seattle Water Taxi services return to their regular schedule – that word just in from King County Department of Transportation‘s Marine Division. (The Melissa Ann had trouble again yesterday afternoon, and Rachel Marie was moved to Vashon service to cover.)

4:10 PM: King County Water Taxi just e-mailed word that West Seattle runs are canceled from 4:15 pm through 7 pm (that means, the rest of the day/night) because of a “mechanical issue.” Checking for more details.

4:42 PM UPDATE: As was the case last time, this is because of a problem with the boat that serves Vashon. The county just sent full details – news release after the jump. First, another update:

7:34 PM UPDATE: The latest update says the West Seattle Water Taxi service is canceled “till further notice.” To clarify whether any change was expected tonight, or whether this meant it’s likely there’ll be no service tomorrow, we checked with Rochelle Ogershok at KC Department of Transportation; at this point, she confirmed, West Seattle Water Taxi service is NOT likely tomorrow – Rachel Marie will keep filling in for Melissa Ann. Now, the enws release from three hours ago:Read More

Out of the WSB inbox, news that the West Seattle Water Taxi will “offer an expanded sailing schedule” starting Monday – read on for more details:Read More

In case you missed the official announcement on Friday afternoon – starting tomorrow morning, West Seattle-Downtown Seattle commuters on the King County Water Taxi will be riding the Rachel Marie again, now that it’s completed repairs and sea trials following last September’s crash. That means Pier 50 on the downtown side (the service had used Pier 55 while Argosy’s Sightseer was filling in). The schedule remains the same – it’s Monday-Friday, commute times only, during the winter, in this first-ever year of year-round operation.

As reported here on Wednesday, repairs are complete on the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle vessel, Rachel Marie (WSB file photo at left), and the U.S. Coast Guard has completed most of its investigation into last September’s crash. With sea trials complete, the county has just announced this afternoon that the Rachel Marie will return to West Seattle-Downtown Seattle service on Monday – which also means a return to Pier 50. The full text of the county’s news release, ahead:Read More

(9/26/2010 WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
More than three months after it crashed into the downtown seawall at Washington Street, the King County Water Taxi vessel Rachel Marie is close to returning to service. This morning, King County Department of Transportation spokesperson Rochelle Ogershok confirms that the Rachel Marie begins its post-repairs sea trials today. (Thanks to Eileen for the tip.) The Argosy Cruises boat that used to handle the West Seattle-to-downtown run, the Sightseer, has filled in for most of the runs since the crash, which sent seven people to the hospital last September 26. Ogershok says they should know in a few days when the Rachel Marie will be officially back in service; meantime, a U.S. Coast Guard District 13 spokesperson says the investigation is still “ongoing.”

ADDED 1:26 PM: USCG Lt. Jon Lane provided a little more information about the investigation’s status: He says there will be a formal announcement for the media later this week, saying that Coast Guard investigators have “determined the causal factors” but won’t be able to go public with them “until the investigative report is finalized at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound and then reviewed and approved by Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C.” Lt. Lane says that’s likely to take at least two more months.

Another announcement today from the King County Department of Transportation (following the Metro and Water Taxi changes published here earlier):

The King County Ferry District is advising passengers that the 2011 winter sailing season has been set for the West Seattle Water Taxi.

From Jan 1 – March 31, service will continue to be offered five days a week consistent with the current sailing schedule. Currently, the water taxi operates five morning trips and five afternoon trips Monday through Friday to serve commuters headed into downtown Seattle. This schedule may be adjusted when the Rachel Marie returns to service in a few weeks.

“This winter sailing schedule will continue to be a great option for passengers looking to avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic during their daily commute,” said King County Ferry District Chair Larry Gossett. “And as road work continues along the waterfront, the water taxi will become an even more valuable commute alternative for residents who want to avoid construction tie-ups.”

Meanwhile, repair work continues on the Rachel Marie, which was damaged in last September. The vessel is expected to be back in operation sometime in January.

For more details on the West Seattle Water Taxi winter sailing season, visit: www.kingcounty.gov/watertaxi.

(September 27 photo, shared by Ross)
As first reported here earlier this year, the West Seattle Water Taxi will indeed continue on into fall and winter – and today, full details have just come out about the new weekday-commute-hours-only schedule to start one week from today – the complete announcement is after the jump:Read More