Proposal for Non-Profit Passenger-Only Ferry Between Seattle and Kingston

Derek Wang - KUOW Program Archive – National Public Radio

2/12/2007

Listen to audio version: http://www.kuow.org/DefaultProgram.asp?ID=12242

Voters in Kitsap County last week, rejected a plan to create a passenger-only ferry between Bremerton and Seattle. However, a Kitsap citizens group says they're not discouraged and are proposing a foot ferry between Kingston and Seattle. KUOW's Derek Wang reports

THE PLAN FROM THE 'KINGSTON EXPRESS ASSOCIATION' GOES LIKE THIS -- FORM A CO-OP TO RUN THE PASSENGER-ONLY FERRY. NELS SULTAN IS THE MANAGER FOR THE GROUP.

SULTAN: "We would hire a captain that'd be the only paid employee initially. And the commuters themselves would you know, be the crew to start out with. That would help keep costs down."

THOSE COMMUTERS WOULD HAVE TO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME TO HELP CLEAN THE BOAT AND DO OTHER TASKS. SULTAN ESTIMATES THE FERRY WOULD CARRY ABOUT 80 PEOPLE TWICE A DAY. TICKETS FOR MEMBERS WOULD BE ABOUT 9 DOLLARS AND 50-CENTS.

ONE OF THE OBSTACLES FOR THE PROJECT IS THE STATE. THE UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAS IMPOSED A MORATORIUM ON GRANTING ANY NEW FERRY LICENSES. SULTAN SAYS HIS GROUP IS LOOKING TO STATE LAWMAKERS TO TAKE SOME HELPFUL STEPS.

SULTAN: "The first one is to allow us to apply for a license and to not keep extending this moratorium on new license applications. That would not require an appropriation. At the other end, we would like to have a 500-thousand dollar grant over the next two-year funding biennium, that would probably be enough to keep us going for the first two years. "

AFTER THAT SULTAN PREDICTS, THE SERVICE WOULD START PAYING FOR ITSELF WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. KITSAP COMMUTERS SAY THE FERRY IS BADLY NEEDED. SULTAN SAYS IT WOULD REDUCE HIS DAILY 4 HOUR COMMUTE, TO ABOUT 1 HOUR. I'M DEREK WANG, KUOW NEWS.

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