Guemes Ferry Establishes Three-Person Ferry Operations Procedures for Winter Weekends

New “Three-Person Ferry Operations Procedures” have been adopted for the Guemes Island Ferry which go into effect this weekend beginning Saturday, January 5, 2008 at 6:00 am, according to Ferry Manager, Ron Panzero. “We’ve addressed a number of Auditor issues that will allow us to operate more efficiently at slower times during the year and still maintain an efficient level of service to our customers,” he said.

Some of the highlights of the new procedures include ceasing ticket sales one minute prior to scheduled departure. The indicator for this will be that once the traffic gate is down, no more vehicular traffic will be allowed onboard. This will allow the Crew to get runs off on time. Crew members will be required to carry portable radios to communicate with the Ferry master and deckhand. The purser will control both vehicle traffic and walk on traffic on the dock.

Prior to loading vehicles, ticketed walk-on passengers will board the ferry first. The purser will open the passenger boarding gate to allow passengers to board and then close the gate. No more walk on passengers will be allowed board until vehicle loading has ceased.

The biggest change will be that all ticket collection and validation will be done onboard the vessel, so it is crucial that passengers keep their ticket readily available for collection and verification.

“One of the challenges we will face is the selling of frequent user media during busy times of operation. This is due to the limited amount of time the purser will spend in the purser’s office and the fact that the purser will be going on the ferry runs,” said Panzero.

Please take note that late arriving passengers will not be able to board the ferry that particular run.

All procedures are available online at www.skagitcounty.net for viewing. “We’ve worked very hard with our crew and the community to improve safety and efficiency,” said Panzero.

For more information, contact: Dan Berentson, Communications Director, 360-419-3461

Express Yourself! Contact information for Commissioners, Public Works director and ferry manager.