Kingston Foot-Ferry Route Up for Grabs?

Aqua Express, which has the rights to the Seattle run, faces a June 4 deadline to restart the route.

By Ed Friedrich, Kitsap Sun

May 26, 2007

(front page, above the fold)

The only outfit to ever provide passenger-only ferry service between Kingston and downtown Seattle is close to losing the

route. Aqua Express operated for nine months in 2005 before spiking fuel prices and unexpectedly low ridership forced it to stop.

The state Utilities and Transportation Commission granted it three temporary discontinuances totaling 20 months, allowing it to keep the rights to the route without operating a ferry on it.

With the current reprieve ending June 4, Aqua Express has requested another, for two more years. The UTC heard the petition Wednesday and scheduled it for a hearing. It could have granted the request without a hearing, but it could not legally deny it without a hearing, said agency spokesman Tim Sweeney.

The time and place haven’t been set. A notice will be sent out next week. Aqua Express hasn’t shown it deserves another extension, according to the commission. "The company hasn’t demonstrated a clear plan or strategy for resuming service in a reasonable period of time," it wrote, but instead is shooting for a couple years down the road.

"It doesn’t look promising," said John Blackman, Aqua Express chairman. "It looks to me like the (UTC) staff has recommended that they yank the certificate."

The maximum extension by law is 12 months.

Aqua Express tried to operate the service with no government money and found it impossible. Unfortunately for it, the most logical government partner isn’t available. Kitsap Transit was forced to the sidelines after voters rejected a sales tax increase in February to support passenger ferries.

"Kitsap Transit has said to us that they don’t see any ability on their part to support this service for the next couple of years, so we decided that we would file for a two-year extension and see what happens after that," Blackman said.

Kitsap Transit submitted a letter to the UTC in support of the extension, saying it expects to get funding during the two-year period, most likely from a voter-passed excise tax on the value of motor vehicles. An extension would allow Aqua Express to keep facilities in place, primarily a $750,000 dock in Kingston, which would hold down restart costs, Blackman said. He added that there’s no reason to deny the extension unless another company is capable of running the ferries.

"What’s the UTC have to lose by extending it?" he asked. "If somebody comes along that’s willing and able and wants to operate the service, the UTC can make us step aside."

Kingston Express Association has proposed operating the route as a co-op with members serving as the crew. The group is working with the Port of Kingston on getting a federal grant for startup funding and is considering several other grant possibilities, said Nels Suldan, its manager. "We told the UTC we will apply for a license when funding appears likely," Suldan said.

The UTC cautioned Kingston Express that its organizational model and fare structure might not be appropriate for a regulated

commercial ferry operation. Kitsap Transit wrote that the nonprofit group isn’t a viable alternative.

Suldan said it’s not competing with Aqua Express. "We’d like to have Aqua Express back if they can make it work, but it’s not likely," he said. "It was a great service when it was there."

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