A meeting with Washington State Ferry personnel discussed the trials and tribulations of creating a reservation system to best meet the needs of visitors, residents and commercial traffic to the San Juan Islands.

On Oct. 8, the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau hosted a meeting with local business owners and WSF Reservations Program Manager Brian Churchwell, Terminal Operations Manager Dwight Hutchinson and Senior Customer Service Manager Susan Harris-Huether, amongst others to talk about how the reservation system is working, or not working, for locals. Churchwell said that any adjustments they make will be made over winter and spring to be ready for next summer’s tourist season.

Churchwell started off by presenting a review of the summer ferry season, noting that ridership in 2015 was up overall compared to 2014, which was the highest ridership year the Anacortes/San Juan Island route has ever seen. The only month that dipped down was August, and Churchwell said it’s difficult to know why ridership in August was down compared to 2014.

“It’s hard to make a definitive reason as to why ridership was up or down, from looking at the numbers,” Churchwell said, citing possibilities like fluctuating August weather and limited vessel capacity due to the Elwha being out of commission since July, cutting their capacity by 18 percent.

According to Churchwell, over the summer 2,667 people per day travelled with a reservation, and analyzing online data found that 25 percent of reservations were made the day before or the same day of travel. Churchwell said the reservation system has to figure out a way to cater to three different kinds of travelers; the early planner, commercial traffic, and the last-minute traveler.

An online survey to WSF customers found that 83 percent said the website easy to use, and just nine percent said it was difficult. A member of the audience pointed out that those figures may not be representative of those who use the system, since online surveys may not be readily accessible to all, and if they truly have difficulty with the online system, may not express that through another online system.

Respondents to the survey said that some improvements could be reducing the time window required to be at the terminal, currently at 30 minutes, as well as providing more drive-up space, currently at 10 percent of a ferry’s capacity. Churchwell said that a postcard concerning the survey was sent out to residents, but that not everyone received it for an unidentified reason.

Some suggested modifications that Churchwell presented included increasing or decreasing the percent of reservable spots on a vessel, modifying the current 30-30-30 tiered release schedule of reservation space and modifying the no-show fee to so as discourage people reserving multiple sailing times as “insurance.”

Watch the Islands’ Weekly for coverage of the town hall meetings held by Washington State Ferries on the three main islands last week.