I attended the February 7th meeting of the Ferry Task Force, and I am offering here some admittedly tardy observations about the manifold flaws in the "needs based" fare discounts described at that meeting.
First, I did notice that of all of the criteria for "needs based" fare discounts, none included a compelling direct connection to Lummi Island itself.
Unless a person has a peculiar need to get on and off Lummi Island, there seems to me to be no need for extending a discount to that person, regardless of any other qualification.
If a person applying for a discounted fare had to demonstrate Lummi Island residency, or a similar circumstance (like a loved one living on Lummi Island, for example), this would narrow the universe of possible customers for needs based fares to a few hundred persons. The assumption that the County needs to have a system in place that assumes that any of the nearly 200,000 residents of Whatcom County could come in and qualify for a needs based fare discount for a ride on and off Lummi Island is absurd on its face. If a person doesn't live on the Island, have a relative who lives on the island, has employment on the island, or otherwise has a verifiable and documentable direct connection to Lummi Island, there appears to be no need for that person to even be considered for such a discount.
It is easy for me to sit here and make this observation. There may indeed be Federal, State, or other legal reason why this is not a reasonable criteria, but I feel that your task force is open to any willing spirit who wants to offer information.
Next, I submit that most persons who live on Lummi Island have a unique "need" to get on and off the island. Lummi Island is not like Whidbey Island where a person could get most normal day to day needs met without leaving the island. (And disregard for the sake of argument that there is another way off of Whidbey Island other than a ferry.) The notion that a person can just stay on Lummi Island and get every normal modern need met is simply another exercise in absurdity.
If you live on Lummi Island, and your paycheck depends on getting on and off the island five days a week, you would seem to have a presumptive economic need for a discount on your fare. $3 (the surcharge for using the ferry) is about what a gallon of gas costs, so by that virtue alone you would have a presumptive economic need for a reduced fare. Furthermore, you are high volume user of the ferry.
A person who "needs" to use the ferry five days a week to work a job obviously needs the money from that job, so the amount of income generated by that job is irrelevant. So long as the job is within Whatcom County, that person should qualify for a needs based fare of some sort. Or at least a high-volume use discount.
If a person makes 25 round trips on the ferry per average month, that person is likely to buy one 25 multi-ride passes per month for that purpose. Such a person might be offered the option of paying in advance for 25 trips per month and then have the ability to make unlimited use of the ferry for that month, just like a monthly bus pass. There would be no way to use the pass after it expired, and if the customer used less than 25 trips in that month, that money would be non-refundable. Considering how expensive such a monthly pass would be (One 25 ride multi use pass for a driver is $235, with surcharges) it seems unlikely that such a system would be prone to "abuse" in light of how relatively few passes would be purchased, particularly if that pass was only valid when being used by that customer. As problematic as getting on and off the island is, it is unlikely that such a customer's use of the ferry would increase substantially from 25 trips per month. There are only so many times that a person can use the ferry per month, and the assumption is that the person is going to spend 40 hours per week at a job, so there are very real limits to how many extra "free" trips such a customer will be making with such a pass.
Taken one huge step further, a person who was willing and able to purchase a fiscal quarter's worth of trips in advance ($705) or a year's worth of trips in advance ($2,820) would be able to ride the ferry an unlimited amount of times for that interval, and should enjoy an even more substantial discount for such a substantial in advance (and non-refundable) purchase (such as $600 for a fiscal quarter and $2,250 for a year.) Such purchases might be more appropriate for business owners on Lummi Island rather than residents.
Furthermore, if a group of residents, such as a family, were to purchase a substantial number of ferry trips in advance (by the hundred, for example) then there should be a discount for buying trips on the ferry in such wholesale fashion. Currently purchasing 100 trips worth of passenger/pedestrian would cost $460. If there were a discount that offered 100 trips for $400, this would encourage the purchase of trips in such a fashion which might have the effect of increasing revenue to the County for ferry use, by virtue of sheer volume of purchase alone. And there is the matter of such purchases making a smaller demand on the time of County staff. There would be fewer average transactions per trip, which would result in some savings to the County as well.
On the matter of how to pay for those who are in economic need and can't scrape together the amount of money mentioned above, I suggest that consideration be given for an effort to have organizations underwrite or sponsor a specific number of needs based fares being used on the ferry in exchange for advertising space, on either landing location, on the ferry itself, or both. This is a model used on PBS and NPR and could be used here.
If an organization were willing to donate $3,000 to pay for one thousand surcharges for one thousand needs-based fares, then that organization could get a certain amount of advertising space for a certain amount of time on the ferry system.
The number of persons riding on the ferry is enough to make such advertising/underwriting efforts an attractive benefit to an organization that desires to do something charitable and get some good press for it as well.
This sort of effort might be best organized by a private charitable organization (a 501 c 3) that is devoted strictly to the task of taking donations from other organizations and serving as a nexus between those organizations and the County, something like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I realize all too well that there is no simple solution to the problems facing the FTF, and I only hope that this article is accepted in the spirit of provoking thought.
I hope that you find a compelling solution to this problem, and I look forward to reading your report.
Thank you for your service to the public on this issue.
Shane Roth (aka ApexNerd)
Bellingham, Washington
Anyone who wants solid information on the Whatcom Ferry... Link here.
First, I did notice that of all of the criteria for "needs based" fare discounts, none included a compelling direct connection to Lummi Island itself.
Unless a person has a peculiar need to get on and off Lummi Island, there seems to me to be no need for extending a discount to that person, regardless of any other qualification.
If a person applying for a discounted fare had to demonstrate Lummi Island residency, or a similar circumstance (like a loved one living on Lummi Island, for example), this would narrow the universe of possible customers for needs based fares to a few hundred persons. The assumption that the County needs to have a system in place that assumes that any of the nearly 200,000 residents of Whatcom County could come in and qualify for a needs based fare discount for a ride on and off Lummi Island is absurd on its face. If a person doesn't live on the Island, have a relative who lives on the island, has employment on the island, or otherwise has a verifiable and documentable direct connection to Lummi Island, there appears to be no need for that person to even be considered for such a discount.
It is easy for me to sit here and make this observation. There may indeed be Federal, State, or other legal reason why this is not a reasonable criteria, but I feel that your task force is open to any willing spirit who wants to offer information.
Next, I submit that most persons who live on Lummi Island have a unique "need" to get on and off the island. Lummi Island is not like Whidbey Island where a person could get most normal day to day needs met without leaving the island. (And disregard for the sake of argument that there is another way off of Whidbey Island other than a ferry.) The notion that a person can just stay on Lummi Island and get every normal modern need met is simply another exercise in absurdity.
If you live on Lummi Island, and your paycheck depends on getting on and off the island five days a week, you would seem to have a presumptive economic need for a discount on your fare. $3 (the surcharge for using the ferry) is about what a gallon of gas costs, so by that virtue alone you would have a presumptive economic need for a reduced fare. Furthermore, you are high volume user of the ferry.
A person who "needs" to use the ferry five days a week to work a job obviously needs the money from that job, so the amount of income generated by that job is irrelevant. So long as the job is within Whatcom County, that person should qualify for a needs based fare of some sort. Or at least a high-volume use discount.
If a person makes 25 round trips on the ferry per average month, that person is likely to buy one 25 multi-ride passes per month for that purpose. Such a person might be offered the option of paying in advance for 25 trips per month and then have the ability to make unlimited use of the ferry for that month, just like a monthly bus pass. There would be no way to use the pass after it expired, and if the customer used less than 25 trips in that month, that money would be non-refundable. Considering how expensive such a monthly pass would be (One 25 ride multi use pass for a driver is $235, with surcharges) it seems unlikely that such a system would be prone to "abuse" in light of how relatively few passes would be purchased, particularly if that pass was only valid when being used by that customer. As problematic as getting on and off the island is, it is unlikely that such a customer's use of the ferry would increase substantially from 25 trips per month. There are only so many times that a person can use the ferry per month, and the assumption is that the person is going to spend 40 hours per week at a job, so there are very real limits to how many extra "free" trips such a customer will be making with such a pass.
Taken one huge step further, a person who was willing and able to purchase a fiscal quarter's worth of trips in advance ($705) or a year's worth of trips in advance ($2,820) would be able to ride the ferry an unlimited amount of times for that interval, and should enjoy an even more substantial discount for such a substantial in advance (and non-refundable) purchase (such as $600 for a fiscal quarter and $2,250 for a year.) Such purchases might be more appropriate for business owners on Lummi Island rather than residents.
Furthermore, if a group of residents, such as a family, were to purchase a substantial number of ferry trips in advance (by the hundred, for example) then there should be a discount for buying trips on the ferry in such wholesale fashion. Currently purchasing 100 trips worth of passenger/pedestrian would cost $460. If there were a discount that offered 100 trips for $400, this would encourage the purchase of trips in such a fashion which might have the effect of increasing revenue to the County for ferry use, by virtue of sheer volume of purchase alone. And there is the matter of such purchases making a smaller demand on the time of County staff. There would be fewer average transactions per trip, which would result in some savings to the County as well.
On the matter of how to pay for those who are in economic need and can't scrape together the amount of money mentioned above, I suggest that consideration be given for an effort to have organizations underwrite or sponsor a specific number of needs based fares being used on the ferry in exchange for advertising space, on either landing location, on the ferry itself, or both. This is a model used on PBS and NPR and could be used here.
If an organization were willing to donate $3,000 to pay for one thousand surcharges for one thousand needs-based fares, then that organization could get a certain amount of advertising space for a certain amount of time on the ferry system.
The number of persons riding on the ferry is enough to make such advertising/underwriting efforts an attractive benefit to an organization that desires to do something charitable and get some good press for it as well.
This sort of effort might be best organized by a private charitable organization (a 501 c 3) that is devoted strictly to the task of taking donations from other organizations and serving as a nexus between those organizations and the County, something like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I realize all too well that there is no simple solution to the problems facing the FTF, and I only hope that this article is accepted in the spirit of provoking thought.
I hope that you find a compelling solution to this problem, and I look forward to reading your report.
Thank you for your service to the public on this issue.
Shane Roth (aka ApexNerd)
Bellingham, Washington
Anyone who wants solid information on the Whatcom Ferry... Link here.
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