Published January 2003

State should open up ferry service to private sector

By Paul Guppy
Guest Editorial

In the wake of Gov. Gary Locke’s hard-hitting budget-cut proposals announced in December, the Washington State Ferries service is one of the areas getting a lot of attention, and well it should, since it’s so essential to the state’s transportation system, commuters, tourists and the general public.

Washington State Ferries should not harm riders by canceling passenger service, while at the same time maintaining the law that bars anyone else from providing it.

The Revised Code of Washington, in section 47.60.120, says that no private ferry can operate “over Puget Sound or any of its tributary or connecting waters” within 10 miles of a state ferry route, an area that for practical purposes covers all of Puget Sound.

Washington Ferries expresses the hope that Kitsap and King counties continue passenger ferry service. It is extremely unlikely cash-strapped counties will be able to step in.

The state should simply repeal the ban on private service. That would open the way for new ideas, new investment and more efficient operations.

Research from the Washington Policy Center shows that private companies are willing and able to carry paying passengers across Puget Sound. One innovative company is already moving ahead with passenger service on Lake Washington.

If Washington Ferries can’t do the job, it should let someone else do it. It makes perfect sense to let the private sector offer passenger ferry service.

Paul Guppy is the vice president for research at the Washington Policy Center, an independent, nonprofit think tank in Seattle.

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