Passenger-Only Ferries Add Up to Economic Growth and Less Strain on Infrastructure
By Chris Endresen, Kitsap County District #1 Commissioner

If you commute daily from Kingston to downtown Seattle, you are all too familiar with the cost in terms of time and money.

You can drive on the Washington State ferry from Kingston or drive to Bainbridge Island and drive on that ferry. These are the most expensive options, assuming the IRS’s 49 cents per mile driving cost, WSF fares and Seattle parking rates.

Many commuters choose the cheaper but slower option: riding a Kitsap Transit bus from Kingston to Bainbridge Island and walking on a WSF ferry. More cost-effective is walking on the Kingston-Edmonds WSF ferry and taking the Sounder train into Seattle, but this affords train user commuters fewer choices with just two round trips daily.

If local voters approve a POF sales tax increase in February, there would be a new North Kitsap alternative—boarding a Kingston POF to downtown Seattle. While slightly pricier than taking a KT bus to Bainbridge Island, this would be the far quicker commute.

 Compare this to the cost of POF:

 Passenger-Only Ferry Option:

·         Monthly ferry pass: $147-$189 ($7-9 RT)

·         Kingston terminal monthly parking: $50

·         Estimated monthly cost: $197-$239

·         Estimated commute time: One hour

 Perhaps even more important are the time-savings and quality of life benefits of POF. You could attend your child’s weekday soccer practice or help with homework. You could sit down to dinner at 6:30 p.m., rather than the 7:30 or 8:00 p.m., have a hobby or watch the local news. POF users would have a more relaxed commute, more time to run a few errands on the way home and, with multiple morning and evening ferry departure choices, more time with families or even to get more sleep. 

Beyond the personal is the community benefit: If Kitsap residents need to seek out better- paying Seattle jobs they will most likely spend increased discretionary dollars at home.

But what if you don’t commute to Seattle? How will POFs benefit you, your business or your community? Look to Bainbridge Island, where easy foot access to a 30-minute ferry ride draws weekend visitors and residents with Seattle-wage jobs. Why not have increased Kingston tourism, without increased traffic congestion, more local jobs as new business moves here for the lower operational costs and a more affordable cost of living and more Seattle wage-earners investing in North Kitsap real estate. Commuters boarding POFs in Kingston, rather than driving to Bainbridge, would reduce SR 305 congestion. Increased connecting bus service, park-and-ride lots and multiple ferry departures would allow more residents, not just commuters, to leave their cars at home. Fast ferries would also encourage gradual population increase without more traffic. Such growth could fill in Kingston’s expanding urban growth area and the new developments to the north.

The state revenue department estimates the average Kitsap family, with a median household income of $45,000 a year, pays about $1,661 a year in sales taxes and that the POF sales tax increase, 30¢ on every $100 spent on taxable items, would add $59 annually.  That’s just 16¢ per day or $4.84 per month.  For the price of one and one half latte’s a month, we could have this great service.

This seems like a small price to pay to create a vital link between Seattle and the Kitsap Peninsula.

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