More than a dozen Washington state lawmakers are pushing Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency for Washington State Ferries.
More than a dozen Washington state lawmakers are pushing Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency for Washington State Ferries .
KOMO News has documented countless issues that WSF has and continues to face. WSF is working with fewer boats than it needs to fully run all of its routes, an aging fleet that requires a substantial amount of maintenance and repairs, a shortage of workers, and other mishaps. KOMO News asked Gov. Jay Inslee for his thoughts on this bill, and although he said he hadn’t seen it, he did say, “I’m alert to any suggestions to do that, so I will welcome any suggestions, but I’m unaware of any real statutory impediment , just a matter of getting the bids in.”
Instead of abandoning hybrid-electric vessels, Barkis and Hutchins said they support using biodiesel ferries until the market can provide functional, lower-cost electric options. KOMO News also asked the governor if he would be on board if that meant getting boats into the fleet in two years instead of four years or more. “We don’t believe that’s true. We don’t believe there’s any time difference between electric or diesel,” he answered.
The Legislature extended a contract with a local shipbuilder in 2019 to buy five new 144-car biodiesel ferries but Barkis and Hutchins blame Inslee's decision to transition all government fleets to zero-emission vehicles, including ferries for ultimately causing that contract to fall apart.
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