Hi everyone!
At the last Community Health and Public Safety Network Board meeting, extreme concern was expressed about the impact of the recent announcement of changes in how the Department of Transportation/Washington State Ferries will be selling ferry tickets.
Through the press, we have heard about the cost impact of the proposed system to local residents. However, we have not heard about one of the most important impacts such changes will have on social service agencies/organizations.
This non-transferable electronic ferry ticket proposal will have a huge impact on agencies and organizations that provide ferry tickets to those in need...Medicaid Transportation (Public Health), the Family Resource Centers, service organizations who assist cancer patients, the school districts, and others. At the current rates, these agencies and organizations are able to provide tickets by using commuter ferry book tickets to those in need of immediate transportation assistance for half the cost of an individual car and driver ticket.
Once a non-transferable electronic ticket system is put in place, THIS WILL NO LONGER BE POSSIBLE. The increased costs to agencies and organizations already struggling to meet budgets due to declining federal, state, and local revenues will be enormous if they are to continue to provide transportation assistance.
This is NOT about friends and family! It is about systems change...and this is a proposed system change that will have an effect on many families who are already struggling to make ends meet.
The ferry system and Department of Transportation need to hear that the proposed system reduces viable and acceptable transportation for those in need who must travel to the mainland for medical treatments, for dental work, et cetera.
Thank you for calling our legislators.
Unfortunately, the meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, January 25 with the DOT and WSF and the BOCC has been postponed to a later date. Public hearings will be held in San Juan County on March 1st and 2nd. Please check the Washington State Ferries website for more details. We will keep in touch!
Thank you for paying attention to this most important matter.
Joyce Sobel, Staff
San Juan County Community Network