Guemes Island Ferry Ticketing
Ferry Operations Division Manager
Skagit County Public Works
Guemes Island Ferry Ticketing
Good afternoon,
If you’ve ridden the Guemes Island Ferry in the last week or so, you may have noticed that we are testing a new ticketing system. Our customers have asked for an iPhone to process credit card payments in line, and we have listened. The new system we are testing can do just that and more. As we work to roll out our new ticketing program, we ask for your patience with the process. We are working right now to train all of our staff to use the iPhone. This testing and training will be going on for the month of August, with official implementation by the end of September.
Short-term goals are as follows:
- Implement simple solutions that are not too costly (such as the iPhone for credit card transactions in line). We will roll this out officially by the end of September or sooner.
- Reduce the amount of paper required for the ticketing process. Please note that we have not determined that we will completely eliminate paper tickets all together.
- Implement online ticketing. This is currently in the works, with roll-out later this year.
To summarize, the intent right now is make improvements to the way you can buy tickets by implementing credit card processing in line and online ticket sales.
One thing we would like to ask of our walk-on customers is please do not interrupt the Purser to buy a ticket or have them punch your card when they are selling vehicles. Please proceed to the waiting area or the patio and wait for the Purser to come to you. This is for your safety so that you are not in loading/unloading lanes where there could be vehicle traffic. And, it helps the Purser keep track of everything, which is more challenging than it looks, especially right now as they are learning a new system during our busy summer season.
When the new vessel comes online, there may be more changes to ticketing to further streamline the process.
This is a discussion we will continue to have with our stakeholders as we move forward.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Captain Rachel Rowe
Ferry Operations Division Manager
Skagit County Public Works
Anacortes Terminal – 500 I Ave. Anacortes, WA 98221
Ferry Office: (360) 293-6433 Cell: (360) 333-1496
Direct Line: (360) 416-1466 Fax: (360) 293-1899
rrowe@co.skagit.wa.us
www.skagitcounty.net/ferry
Source: Email from Skagit County 2:54 PM July 25, 2018