WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Officials with Whatcom County Ferry Division announced today their plans to adjust ferry fares for Lummi Island ferry crossing riders after a Whatcom County Superior Court issued a judgement in response to a citizen complaint to the inclusion of non-operating costs when calculating recent fare increases.
Whatcom County … is barred from charging to the ferry fare box the $781,923.77 in contested expenses for rebuilding the dolphins in 2022-23, and is barred from implementing any future fare increase until the disputed dolphin rebuild costs are removed from the ferry fare box.
– Whatcom County Superior Court trial ruling (24-2-00720-7 January 7, 2025)
According to a statement published on the Whatcom County website, county officials argued to keep current fares in place and limit fare increases to 6% through 2034. They said this would avoid a 60% rate increase in 2026 if they obeyed the court’s order literally. The citizen who filed the complaint was not in agreement with not following the literal reading of the judgement. This requires the county to do the following as detailed in their statement.
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- Refund the portion of dolphin repair costs previously paid by the fare box to the Ferry Fund. This will be accomplished through a credit to the fare-box in the amount of $430,058.08. (No individual refunds will be issued.)
- Temporarily roll back all fares to rates that were effective as of May 31, 2024.
These changes have a current implementation deadline of February 20, 2025 (30 days from the final judgment order), with an option of requesting an extension from the court if circumstances require.
To fulfill these requirements, the County will take immediate steps to return to the fare schedule in effect in May 2024. The new (rolled-back) cash fares (single-ride tickets) will be implemented no later than January 31, 2025. And it is anticipated that new (rolled-back) punch cards will be available in mid-February, depending on printing and processing timelines.
Additionally, the sale of multi-ride punch cards has been halted until new cards are available. If ferry users are in possession of punch cards purchased after May 31, 2024, that have not yet been fully redeemed, the cards’ unused value can be credited toward the acquisition of new punch cards, when those become available. Public Works will announce dates for future punch card sales/exchanges once the implementation timeline has been confirmed.
– Whatcom County Ferry Division (January 22, 2025)
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