Expect increase in ferry fares this fall

OLYMPIA — The cost of traveling on a state ferry may go up again this fall.

The keel is being laid for fare hikes in October and again next year to help keep the nation’s largest passenger ferry system afloat.

But the amount of the increase won’t be known until after lawmakers enact a new two-year transportation budget that includes money for the day-to-day operations of Washington State Ferries.

The state House and Senate have been negotiating for weeks. A deal is near on this budget — which is separate from the government operating budget on which the two legislative chambers are bitterly divided —and votes could be taken before the special session ends May 28.

“We think negotiators are close,” House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said Thursday.

In April, during the regular session, the House approved a transportation spending plan that counted on money from a 2.5 percent fare hike on vehicles and passengers this year and next. But the Senate did not act on the House bill, pushing the issue into the extra session.

Rep. Judy Clibborn, chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee, said regular and predictable fare increases are needed to cover annual increases in operating costs due to inflation.

Fares have gone up nearly every year since 2007 for the cash-strapped system. The last across-the-board increase took effect May 1, 2014, and boosted passenger fares by 2 percent and vehicle fares by 2.5 percent.

For drivers of a standard length car — between 14 and 22 feet — it turned out to be a 20-cent increase in the regular one-way fare for the Mukilteo-Clinton route and 45 cents on the Edmonds-Kingston route.

While lawmakers budget in extra money from higher fares, they don’t actually set the fares. That responsibility lies with the state Transportation Commission. That panel will draft a fare increase proposal and hold public hearings on it before making a final decision.

Ray Deardorf, state ferries planning director, told commissioners this week that an advisory commission has been discussing potential elements of a fare hike for months. He assured them that if the process begins in June, it can be completed in time for an increase to take effect Oct. 1.

Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, who serves on the House Transportation Committee, said she understood the reasons for charging ferry riders more but hopes the final amount isn’t as much as the original House budget demanded.

“None of us want to see fares increase,” she said. “I think they can be held down more.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.