PORT TOWNSEND — Calling state ferries “our highway to the other side,” longtime Port Townsend resident Sharon Durga intensely questioned state officials Wednesday night about the reasons behind a proposed Washington State Ferries electronic fare collection system.
Without a flinch, State Ferries’ special electronic card project supervisor, James Foss, said the existing system was decrepit and obsolete.
“We’re buying parts on eBay and at cash register wrecking yards,” Foss said with a slight smile.
“The system is failing . . . and it’s much cheaper to buy a new system than to keep the old one going.”
That new system would create a Commuter Multi-Card to replace or be shared with the existing discount coupon book ticket system.
Ferry riders have a better chance of influencing the outcome of the electronic card fare collection proposal, which is “open” to change at this time, State Ferries officials said.
The card system, which residents like Durga fear would not allow discount book ticket sharing, is a likelihood in one shape or another.
Ultimately, how the card system is formulated rests with the state Transportation Commission, ferry officials explained.
Small turnout at meeting
Durga was among about 10 residents from Port Townsend and Port Ludlow who showed up at Wednesday night’s state Department of Transportation Tariff Policy Committee information forum at Blue Heron Middle School in Port Townsend.
The residents studied exhibits and other information, asked questions, then filled out blue comment forms on the proposals.
The Tariff Policy Committee reviews public comments and determines whether to change the proposal, then passes on comments to the Transportation Commission at a final public hearing March 23.
The tariff decision would go into effect in 2007.
Besides the electronic fare collection system, Durga and others learned that a proposed 5 percent rate increase is pretty much a done deal.