Haines residents packed the assembly chambers and offered a range of suggestions for changes to the Alaska Marine Highway System at a meeting the system hosted in Haines last month.
Ferry system head Mike Nuessl led the four-hour meeting providing a detailed overview of the system. More than 40 residents attended.
Some residents criticized a state plan to not build berths on two “Alaska-class” vessels under construction, arguing that overnight crew space would make the boats more versatile to the fleet. Under the current design, the boats would run on a daytime-only, 12-hour schedule, including in Lynn Canal.
“Crew quarters allow these ships to fill in for other ships,” said resident Rob Goldberg. As designed, the vessels are a “one-trick pony,” Goldberg testified. “That ship’s going to be so limited it’s not going to be worth anything… I don’t see efficiencies there.”
Nuessl replied: “We’re looking at the crew quarters issue and quite frankly it’s a state-funded vessel in a tight budget climate. Adding additional funding to that vessel was not deemed an acceptable thing to do at this time.”
Summer catamaran operator Glen Jacobson advised Nuessl that changes to design would be more expensive after construction. “I’ve built boats and did change orders on boats and it’s expensive (but) the time to do that change order is while you’re building that boat. I’m sure of that,” he said.
“You probably have a point there,” Nuessl said. He estimated adding quarters would cost about $4 million per ship.
Residents’ suggestions for the system included instituting peak and off-peak fares, retrofitting vessels with energy-saving bows, and slowing vessel speed to save on fuel costs.
Several residents raised questions about scheduling, arguing that cuts in service should come where the system loses money, instead of Lynn Canal, a more profitable run. They also pressed for daily ferry service in Lynn Canal in summer as critical to the local economy
“Quite frankly, nothing self-sustains on the ferry system. It’s all highly supported by state goverment,” Nuessl said. One fourth of system revenues are generated by the run to Bellingham, Wash., he said.
Nuessl provided charts showing the system’s annual operating costs at about $70 million during 1986-2000, climbing to $100 million in 2005, then leaping to $140 million in 2006 and to more than $160 million in 2014.
Rising costs of labor contracts and fuel, addition of fast ferries and maintenance on aging boats all contributed to the jump in costs, Nuessl said, but he said he couldn’t provide a break-out of individual costs of those elements.
Revenues climbed from $35 million to $55 million per year during the same 28 years, he said. Passenger ridership declined, from 400,000 to 350,000 per year. The number of vehicles moved annually by ferry has remained at 100,000 for 28 years.
Labor costs the system about $90 million per year. Nuessl’s charts showed legislative funding of ferries has declined from $124 million in 2012 to $96 million last year.