Washington State Ferries is encouraging riders to try out a new
online tool that shows how much car deck space remains on upcoming
sailings. The beta program subtracts the number of vehicle fares
collected at the tollbooth from the number of cars the boat can
carry and displays the difference on the new terminal
conditions page.
For example, during Tuesday’s early afternoon rush at Fauntleroy,
the page listed the 4:20 p.m. departure to Southworth. The boat
would be the 87-car Klahowya. At 4:07 p.m., it had 39 spaces left
and was marked in yellow. I took that to mean if you’re not far
away and hurry up, you might get on board. Along with the numbers
are live camera images of cars at the dock.
Red signifies not to even bother.
The page doesn’t line up quite right on my computer. There’s a link
that customers are encouraged to use to provide feedback, so the
tool can be refined over the next few months.