Reduced ferry funding scenarios proposed by transportation officials include eliminating dayboat service in Lynn Canal between July and September, eliminating winter service by fast ferries, limiting fast ferry service to four days weekly during summer months, and eliminating contracted marketing and advertising.
Other proposed changes would delay the start of service by the Taku between Prince Rupert, B.C., and Juneau, and reduce summer service to Prince Rupert, as well as mainline service to Sitka and other Southeast communities.
State transportation officials revealed proposals for cutting service during a recent state House Finance Committee meeting.
The state contributed $114 million to the Alaska Marine Highway operating budget last year, and is considering cuts of about $9 million, said DOT spokesman Jeremy Woodrow.
“(DOT) is trying to put out different scenarios based on the governor’s proposed budget,” Woodrow said this week. “If the budget passed today, DOT would be looking at a schedule similar to this.”
DOT is proposing a cut of roughly 4 percent to ferry operations, but the total cut to the ferry system is more than twice that due to a Walker administration decision to eliminate a “fuel trigger” that previously reimbursed the ferry system for the price of fuel above $2.50 per gallon. “The ferry system will have to absorb that amount,” Woodrow said.
Ferry advocates in Haines this week reacted strongly to the outlined cuts. “So what highways do they propose to close?” said former Mayor Stephanie Scott. “This is a highway. It’s not an optional service… We have to fight this.”
Resident Robert Venables, chair of the state Marine Transportation Advisory Board, said he would call a meeting as soon as possible to hear directly from state officials about the proposals.
“There’s almost a cannibalism going on. The marine highway is a large recipient of DOT general funds and lawmakers, particulary from the Interior, want that money going to their districts,” Venables said.
Venables said he “didn’t have a full picture yet” of the specifics of the cuts. “Everyone was on the same page that cuts would lead to reductions in service, but in terms of specific cuts, I don’t think those have been identified yet.”
Venables said he would be strongly urging residents of coastal communities to contact legislators, particularly ones with seats on budget and transportation committees.
Venables said that due to the state’s budget shrinkage, it’s counterproductive for residents to ask that the system not be cut at all. Instead, they should urge lawmakers to stress efficiencies in service and emphasize that for remote coastal communities, there’s no alternative to ferries.