A new ferry reservation system for the San Juan Islands got its first big test this Memorial Day weekend.
A number of San Juan County residents tell KIRO 7 they are unable to make trips that are not planned well in advance because of the system, in which up 90 percent of vehicle space is reservable ahead of time.
Most concerned are those who live on San Juan or Orcas Islands, where, save for the ten percent standby space, reservations are required both leaving the islands and Anacortes.
Rebecca Parks of Friday Harbor wrote to KIRO 7 saying she is "absolutely appalled and not a little frightened by this new system. I feel trapped here, and it's not a good feeling."
Parks cited numerous examples of the inflexibility of the system for island residents when the boats are fully booked, from being unable to catch an earlier ferry home while visiting family off-island, or being unable to leave the island on a summer weekend to visit a friend in the hospital.
Washington State Ferries implemented the vehicle reservation system in the San Juans this winter, hoping to spread out traffic to lesser-used sailings and reduce lines.
Many lines were shorter on Memorial Day weekend and a WSF spokeswoman said officials are pleased with how the new system has worked.
WSF said the reservation system is the product of two years of work with community input, and how it works this summer will be reviewed in the fall.
The reservation system is also causing frustration on Lopez Island, where reservations are only needed for the trip from the mainland, not the trip to leave.
Jacob Larson, a general contractor on Lopez Island, said the old first-come, first-served system worked far better.
"Unplanned trips off island, you can't get back because the reservations are booked and then you're screwed," Larson said.
On Monday, Larson was on the ferry bringing his truck back from Anacortes, where he had to leave it several days earlier when he couldn't get a reservation and had to fly back to the island instead.
Becca Peter of Lopez Island said the new system has "really increased the stress we have using the ferries, before there was a lot more flexibility."
She suggested moving to a 50/50 system, where half of the ferry vehicle space is available for drive-up traffic, and half for those with reservations.
Other residents report no problems with the reservation system, and say they appreciate knowing which ferries they will catch.
“We have used the reservation system over a dozen times since January going to and from our permanent residence on (San Juan Island) and have had NO issues,” Donna Fischer wrote in an email.
“We’ve made, changed and canceled reservations but have never missed one; made advance and last-minute decisions,” Fischer wrote.
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