Goal For The New Chief: Keep the Ferries Running

Washington state ferries has a new boss.

She's Lynne Griffith, who is currently the chief executive of Pierce County transit.

And a memo from her new boss to the governor indicates her marching orders.

KUOW's Carolyn Adolph reports.

TRANSCRIPT

In the memo, transportation secretary Lynn Peterson tells the governor that the goal is to stop missing sailings.

Ninety-nine trips were canceled last year because of lack of available crew.

Peterson wants those trips to proceed - only with fewer passengers.

That will involve negotiating with the unions and the Coast Guard.

Another issue Griffith will face is equipment.

The ferries need about $240 million worth of maintenance work.

Peterson wants to prevent breakdowns, but with so few ferries it's hard to rotate them out for service.

The solution is to build more ferries, and plans for more are underway.

It will be up to Griffith, who starts next month, to figure out how to keep the ferries working.

I'm Carolyn Adolph, KUOW News.