There has been much in the news lately regarding the shortfall of funding to support the state ferry system, followed by questions as to where the possible sources of the necessary funds lie. The answer is simple: Increase the fares to cover the shortfall!
The ferry system, as so many like to
point out, is an extension of the state highway system, receiving highway funds as a portion of its operating revenue. If it is indeed a part of the highway system, it most closely parallels a toll bridge, which even though it receives state funding, additional user fees must be levied to cover construction and/or operational costs. So it should be with the ferry system as well.
If it requires a $25 ferry fee, for example, to travel one way between Mukilteo and Clinton in order to gather sufficient funds to cover the shortfall, so be it. This is only fair. Ferry commuters have long been on the gravy train, their lifestyle subsidized by those of us that infrequently or never use the ferry system. Beyond normal highway funding, why should a resident of Walla Walla, for example, bear the additional costs of operating the ferry system unless actually riding it?
Now is the time to pay the piper for the privilege of living on an island, separated from the hustle and bustle of humanity that the rest of us endure. If you don’t like it, move to the mainland!
Dave Martson
Marysville
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