Posted on 03/10/2008 3:10:26 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
WA ping...
Sad to hear this - I had been under the impression that the Washington State Ferry system was one state government-run entity that was well run. We’ve taken the Anacortes-Orcas Island ferry many times when our daughter lived on Orcas.
But not enough to pay the actual cost of riding one.
They were putting new superstructures on 60yr old frames (this back in the ‘80’s) - so today those frames are like 80yrs old but look modern ... whole bottom beams rusted out ....scary.
Privatize.
“They were putting new superstructures on 60yr old frames (this back in the ‘80’s) - so today those frames are like 80yrs old but look modern ... whole bottom beams rusted out ....scary.”
****
I thought that only happened to aging Hollywood celebrities who visit their plastic surgeons...
As a prior Wasingtonian, the tax increase almost a decade ago should have been approved....then the gripes would not be coming out now. These ferries are expensive to operate and consumers of the services should be willing to support their olny link with the “mainland”.
Alaska is not far from this action.
Exactly! They used to be private runs...until they were socialized, they could have private ferries running in a couple of months if they would turn lose of control.
Btttt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puget_Sound_Navigation_Company
The Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded by Joshua Green in 1913.[1] It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia. Known colloquially as the Black Ball Line, the PSNC achieved a “virtual monopoly” on cross-sound traffic in the 1930s and competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway’s steamships on several routes.[2]
Before 1927, when the company was controlled by Joshua Green, the house flag consisted of a design by Mrs. Green, a red star on a white diamond on a blue background. After 1927, when Joshua Green sold his interest to the Peabody family, the Black Ball company flag was transferred over to Puget Sound Navigation Co., and the company became known as the Black Ball Line.[3]
PSNC began to struggle following World War II, as operating costs increased and its unions threatened strike action. PSNC petitioned the State Utilities Commission for permission to raise its fares, but was rebuffed. Following a long series of court battles, PSNC’s unionized employees finally called a strike. The company responded not by hiring strike breakers, but by halting operations, hoping public pressure would convince the State to permit a fare increase. The State was unrelenting, however, and after having effectively forced the company out of business, PSNC’s domestic operations assets were purchased by the state of Washington’s Department of Transportation for the sum of $4.9 million in early 1951, creating Washington State Ferries on May 31.[2][4][5]
PSNC retained the assets used in their Canadian operations and after the 1951 downsizing, operated a much-reduced fleet as Black Ball Ferries, Ltd. This company sold most of its assets to the provincial government of British Columbia in November, 1961, creating BC Ferries.[6][7]
The current descendant of the Black Ball Line, Blackball Transport, Inc., was founded in 1936 from Black Ball Freight Service, a road transport subsidiary of PSNC. Blackball Transport owns and operates a single ferry, the M/V Coho between Victoria, British Columbia and Port Angeles, Washington.[7]
Ferry rides were cheap entertainment when I was a grad student at UW. We would pack a lunch and take a ferry to wherever, then turn around and come back to Seattle. I’d never seen views like that before in my life and being on the water all day after being cooped up on campus for weeks was great for our mental health.
I don’t miss the leftists, but I do miss the beautiful PNW.
After 24 years of democrat Govs, the wheels fall off the bus. Whodathunkit?
Exactly.
The WA State Ferry system is corrupt and incompetent. Check it out, they still do not have the cash handling systems worked out for taking tickets. This has been going on for a long time.
Until the system is privatized nothing will change and the state will not privatize the system until they are bankrupt.
schu
The boats may be in bad shape, but I’ll wager HUGE money the retirement plans for each employee are in tip-top shape.
:)
Great pics! Looks like a great way for ferry riders to get their cars washed, too.
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