New rates for Lummi Island ferry travel that have generated deep concern among island residents may change again as a lawsuit protesting the hikes undergoes appeal.
Lummi Island residents are now paying more to ride the ferry after proposed fare hikes took effect last month.
The new rates — which had been delayed by a court ruling in a 2024 lawsuit and are likely to change again as the case undergoes appeals — have generated concern and outrage among island residents.
While increases are fairly modest for foot, bicycle and motorcycle traffic, the cost for drivers is steep, more than doubling the cost per ride for some multitrip punch card holders.
“This major fare increase will have significant effects on our Lummi Island community,” said Whatcom County Ferry Advisory Committee Chair Pam Gould. “Just when the ferry system is struggling with ridership’s stagnant numbers, islanders worry this change will further depress ridership.”
New numbers, bad math
While single round-trip pedestrian fares have increased just $2, with bicycle and motorcycle passengers seeing $5 increases, nontribal drivers are being hard-hit by significant fare increases.
Those relying on the highest-volume trip cards are not only incurring steeper fares, but are receiving fewer trips for their money: 25-trip punch cards have been reduced to 20-trips, and cost more for both pedestrians, motorcyclists and vehicle traffic than 25-trip cards did.
To put those increases in better perspective, a driver commuting five days a week for one month will see ferry expenses increase about $200 with a vehicle weighing less than 11,000 pounds.
A driver with a vehicle between 11,001 and 20,000 pounds will see monthly fares cost an extra $856 for 20 round-trips, while those driving 20,001 to 36,000-pound vehicles will pay an extra $1,984 for the same number of trips.
The heaviest vehicles the ferry allows — between 36,001 and 50,000 pounds — will see a monthly budget uptick of at least $3,834 per month if commuting at least 20 times.
Multiride punch cards from prior rates are valid until Sept. 22, Gould wrote in an email.
Fare timeline
A lawsuit was originally filed by Lummi Island resident Peter Earle in April 2024. A ruling this January by the Whatcom County Superior Court found that the county misclassified other expenses to justify a June 2024 rate increase.
Appeals Court decisions on that lawsuit are forthcoming, and will likely affect rates moving forward, Gould said.
The county issued a press release in June explaining that Whatcom County Code requires the ferry system to recover 55% of operating costs through fares. Increases in labor, fuel and repair costs and reduced revenue from other funds to subsidize the Lummi Island ferry, were listed as reasons for the steep fare hikes.
The increase in large vehicle fares, which provide island families with services from many Whatcom County businesses, will likely result in increased service costs being passed along to customers, Gould said. Retirees and young families who use the ferry for vital trips will likely be hardest hit and least able to adjust tight budgets.
“Young families are a vital part of our Lummi Island community and nothing about this fare change is going to help them,” Gould said.
Bob Anderson, a Lummi Island resident, expressed sadness and disappointment with the new fares in a written comment, which he called “excessive.” He also said he felt the new fares were imposed by County Executive Satpal Sidhu without acknowledging or seriously considering community input before a final decision was made.
“We ferry riders now find ourselves with the only hope and, frankly, expectation, that another whiplash change back to a reasonable and sustainable level of fare increases will occur after the decision in the Peter Earle appeal case,” Anderson wrote. “This is all so discouraging and disappointing for those of us, including (the ferry advisory committee), who have worked so hard to be partners and collaborators with the county.”
Ralph Steele, a Lummi Island resident and certified public accountant, alleges the county made mistakes in computing the amount of revenue needed to fund the ferry system, and that the new fare rates are unjustified.
In an Aug. 15 email to Sidhu, Steele wrote that a fair and accurate fare increase would be about 26%, and that the county had grossly miscalculated projections in several different budgeting areas, including in fares, state grants and operating expenses.
Sidhu responded on Aug. 21, saying that much of the disagreement stems from using a different set of assumptions that produced different results.
Pending litigation, Sidhu wrote, would continue to somewhat limit communication on the topic, but that the county remained “committed to transparency within the bounds of what is appropriate until the litigation is resolved.”
Ferry litigation in Skagit
Ferry fare increases in Skagit County have also prompted action this year. Four Guemes Island residents filed an appeal in February challenging fares set on the county-operated Anacortes-Guemes run. The suit raises several concerns, among them that the county raised fares more than necessary by inflating projected costs, and set an expiration date for multiride tickets that were sold with no expiration date.
— By Matt Benoit
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Legislators throw a life ring to Washington’s ‘other’ ferries,” Feb. 21, 2024
• “Is passenger-ferry service for the islands possible?,” Feb. 7, 2024