If the Skagit doesn't receive engine maintenance, regular passengers may wonder what will happen to their ride if the Tyee breaks down. The Skagit's twin boat, the Kalama, is an unreliable backup because it faces the same maintenance dilemmas as the Skagit. The answers to the passenger ferry programs will come in the next legislative session, when lawmakers decide what piece of the funding pie transportation gets. A Joint Task Force on Ferries, created by the Legislature in April, is studying how best to keep the ferry system running over the next two years. We're trying to find some ways to continue the financing of that program.
Passenger ferries are unique in the system.
While auto ferries are by state law part of the highway system and may be subsidized by gas taxes, passenger ferries are more like buses. Gas taxes can't be used to pay for the programs. With the cut in the motor vehicle excise tax, lawmakers have to come up with new funding for foot ferries. The task force hasn't come up with a budget for running passenger ferries. One way local lawmakers may leverage more funds for the program is through higher fares.