Published: Sunday, January 22, 2012
In our view / State ferry funding
Crisis mustn't be ignored
Initiative 695, Tim Eyman's first crack at lowering car-tab fees, was wildly popular with voters in 1999 for good reason. Licenses were expensive -- often several hundred dollars a year per vehicle -- and the connection between the money collected and how it was spent was hazy, going far beyond paying for transportation projects.
Cities and counties, for example, used some of the proceeds to pay for public health and criminal justice. The nexus between those needs, important as they are, and a car license was lost on most voters. They'd had enough, and 56 percent of them approved I-695.
Even though the state Supreme Court threw out the initiative, legislators and then-Gov. Gary Locke rushed to enshrine its limit on car-tab fees into law. Clearly, they knew their own political survival was on the line.
Trouble is, I-695 ratcheted transportation revenue back too far. One of the most serious ramifications was to the state's iconic ferry system, which is now listing toward a very real financial crisis that could result in the elimination of several routes, including the one between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend.
Since losing car-tab fees as a major source of revenue, the ferry system has been kept afloat by almost $1 billion in transfers from other transportation accounts. But that was a temporary solution, one that everyone in Olympia knew was unsustainable.
Its days are just about over. Funding for transportation throughout the state is in dire shape. Revenue isn't keeping up with maintenance needs, let alone new projects. There's nothing left to support ferries without making the highway-funding deficit even worse.
Passengers pay about 70 percent of operation costs through fares, which have risen substantially over the past decade. Raising them to a level that would cover all costs, officials believe, would reduce ridership so much that the revenue shortfall would be even worse. Privatization would leave only the most lucrative routes in place, stranding residents who have long depended on ferries as part of the state highway system -- which technically, they are.
Last year the governor proposed creating a regional taxing authority for ferries, an idea that went nowhere because it shifted a state responsibility onto a few counties. Everyone should pay for state highways, and that includes the ferry system.
The ferry-funding crisis is another compelling reason the Legislature must at least pass, this session, the 10-year, $3.7 billion transportation package proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire. It would keep the ferry system at its current operational level, though it puts nothing toward replacing aging boats or deteriorating terminals -- like the one in Mukilteo.
It also underscores the urgent need for a decision on what kind of transportation system we want for our future and our children's future. The governor's Connecting Washington Task Force has identified $21 billion in critical needs over the next decade, projects that are crucial to supporting a robust economy and job growth. That plan includes long-term funding for ferries, and needs to be completed and put before voters -- the sooner, the better.
The Washington State Ferry System is a vital link in our transportation network, and an essential part of what makes our state such a great place to live, and for tourists to visit. It's worth saving.
Cities and counties, for example, used some of the proceeds to pay for public health and criminal justice. The nexus between those needs, important as they are, and a car license was lost on most voters. They'd had enough, and 56 percent of them approved I-695.
Even though the state Supreme Court threw out the initiative, legislators and then-Gov. Gary Locke rushed to enshrine its limit on car-tab fees into law. Clearly, they knew their own political survival was on the line.
Trouble is, I-695 ratcheted transportation revenue back too far. One of the most serious ramifications was to the state's iconic ferry system, which is now listing toward a very real financial crisis that could result in the elimination of several routes, including the one between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend.
Since losing car-tab fees as a major source of revenue, the ferry system has been kept afloat by almost $1 billion in transfers from other transportation accounts. But that was a temporary solution, one that everyone in Olympia knew was unsustainable.
Its days are just about over. Funding for transportation throughout the state is in dire shape. Revenue isn't keeping up with maintenance needs, let alone new projects. There's nothing left to support ferries without making the highway-funding deficit even worse.
Passengers pay about 70 percent of operation costs through fares, which have risen substantially over the past decade. Raising them to a level that would cover all costs, officials believe, would reduce ridership so much that the revenue shortfall would be even worse. Privatization would leave only the most lucrative routes in place, stranding residents who have long depended on ferries as part of the state highway system -- which technically, they are.
Last year the governor proposed creating a regional taxing authority for ferries, an idea that went nowhere because it shifted a state responsibility onto a few counties. Everyone should pay for state highways, and that includes the ferry system.
The ferry-funding crisis is another compelling reason the Legislature must at least pass, this session, the 10-year, $3.7 billion transportation package proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire. It would keep the ferry system at its current operational level, though it puts nothing toward replacing aging boats or deteriorating terminals -- like the one in Mukilteo.
It also underscores the urgent need for a decision on what kind of transportation system we want for our future and our children's future. The governor's Connecting Washington Task Force has identified $21 billion in critical needs over the next decade, projects that are crucial to supporting a robust economy and job growth. That plan includes long-term funding for ferries, and needs to be completed and put before voters -- the sooner, the better.
The Washington State Ferry System is a vital link in our transportation network, and an essential part of what makes our state such a great place to live, and for tourists to visit. It's worth saving.
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