You’ve heard this one before. On my way back from Seattle a few weeks ago, the attendant that sold me my ferry ticket to board the Bremerton boat marked me down as heading to Bainbridge.

I politely protested. He said it didn’t matter. I insisted that, as a reporter, I had been told repeatedly by ferry officials that it did matter. He called his boss. His boss told him it didn’t matter.

I left with my receipt and plenty of questions for ferries officials. Once again, a Bremerton rider had been counted as heading to Bainbridge, as I’d heard many times before. Only this time, I witnessed it with my own eyes.

I consulted Ian Sterling, a ferries spokesman, about my receipt. Had something changed, in light of the more careful counts crews are doing to ensure they’re following Coast Guard capacity requirements?

No, Sterling said. The attendants should be marking them down correctly. And his supervisor should’ve voided the sale and started the process again. Sterling said the staff would be getting a “written reminder” to ensure accuracy.

“This is something that comes up from time to time,” Sterling said.

Why it’s important: The ferry system uses those ridership statistics for planning its route capacity. So it is a big deal, and if you find yourself in a similar situation, please let me know.

In my own case, the attendant vowed to count the next two motorists as going to Bremerton regardless, as a consolation prize.

I’m puzzled about why this keeps happening. I can only chalk it up to a disconnect between those managing the ferries and the people selling the tickets. It only applies when you drive your vehicle on the vessel in Seattle; walk-on passengers buy a specific ticket.

But has it affected the statistics? Hard to say.

The Bainbridge route indeed has higher ridership. Bainbridge’s carried 6.3 million riders in 2015; Bremerton’s carried 2.7 million. But of those, 25 percent drove on the ferry in Bremerton, compared with 30 percent on Bainbridge in 2015. This might just be Bremerton’s typically-high walk-on passenger counts but if attendants continue to count Bremerton’s vehicles as Bainbridge’s, it stands to reason it will have an effect.   

But for some Bremerton ferry riders, getting the wrong receipt is a symptom of a bigger issue: That their route is treated differently. Bainbridge has vessels built in the 1990s; Bremerton’s are late-60s era models. Bainbridge has more sailings. One commuter I talked to even feels the terminal in Seattle is nicer on the Bainbridge side. And last week, when the Kaleetan ferry experienced steering issues, passengers to Bremerton were ultimately taken to Bainbridge, where a bus waited to take them home. Generally, when a Bainbridge vessel goes out of service, it is quickly replaced, setting off a domino effect that impacts the Bremerton run.

Even the credit card system at Colman Dock doesn’t acknowledge Bremerton. Regardless of the destination the attendant marks you down for, your credit card statement will say “WSFERRIES-BAINBRIDGE,” as the line item no matter what.

I asked Sterling if he hears such complaints about favoritism.

“We hear from most routes from time to time that they believe other routes get more attention,” he told me.

The San Juans routes, for instance, feel Seattle “get more than they do,” he said.

“I can tell you that WSF is focused on the system as a whole,” Sterling said. “Bremerton is one of our core central sound routes.”

He closed with one final point: Guess who’s getting a brand new $123 million ferry next spring?

Bremerton. 

But when it comes to receipts, it appears the only way to ensure your trip counts to its proper destination is to keep a close eye on it and contact the ferry system if you’re Bainbridged* by mistake. I’ll be happy to help, too.

*Not a real word.

Commuters to Bremerton at the ferry terminal in Seattle faced a infuriating evening Tuesday night. The Kaleetan ferry broke down due to steering issues the same afternoon, triggering the Coast Guard-mandated 600 passenger cap on vessels capable of holding double that.

With the 5:35 p.m. sailing canceled, the numbers waiting stacked up. The Hyak’s 6:45 p.m. could only go with 600, and troopers with the Washington State Patrol had to hold people back.

“It was mayhem,” said Dr. Robert Bullock, a commuter to Seattle, who added some people were screaming.

“We are second class citizens in Bremerton,” added Art Conrad, another commuter.

It took most commuters many hours to make it home, on a night it usually takes about one.

Because the vessels on the Bremerton run don’t have enough life rafts, the Coast Guard has capped runs when only one boat is present at 600. On Tuesday, that left lines of passengers waiting in Seattle to catch what looks like a ferry with ample space. And this is certainly not the first time this has happened.

The state ferries and Kitsap Transit worked out an emergency deal Tuesday that allowed commuters to take the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry — and their larger capacities — to Winslow. From there, a Kitsap Transit bus would haul them the 45 minutes to Bremerton. But commuters told me they also had to transfer buses in Silverdale, making the trek even longer.

Elissa Torgeson, another commuter, said she rushed to wait in the area past the turnstiles so she could guarantee herself a spot on the soonest boat to Bremerton. And then, ferry officials announced they could take the Bainbridge and board a bus.

She said some ferry employees did not empathize with the situation and did not keep commuters waiting informed of what was going on.

Buses were “standing room only,” at the Bainbridge terminal, according to local resident Susan Digby.

Ian Sterling, a spokesman for the state ferry system, said the Kaleetan would not likely be fixed Tuesday night. It’s unclear what will happen Wednesday morning at this point.

“We sympathize with those commuters who have endured a long night,” he said. “That’s the reality of an aging fleet.”

Sterling added that the addition to the Bremerton run of a new ferry, the Chimacum, in 2017, will allow 1,500 people to board the boat at all sailings, due to its safety enhancements.

But it was a long night Tuesday. And with a game at Safeco Field and only one vessel working the route, it became a Wednesday morning for some.

Here’s what the ferry system sent out at 8:30 p.m.

Due to mechanical issues, the Kaleetan is temporarily out of service. This cancels the 9:05pm sailing from Bremerton. There will be three sailings departing Seattle: 9:05pm, the 10:30pm will depart late and the sailing at 12:50am will also depart late. The next sailing from Bremerton will depart with a late 11:40pm. Until two boat service is restored on the Seattle/Bremerton route the Hyak will only board a maximum of 600 total passengers, this includes vehicles. The vessel is unable to board additional passengers for safety reasons. We apologize for any inconvenience. Updates will be provided as conditions change.

Below is a video showing the chaos (OK fine, chaos isn’t quite accurate) people  in the terminal as the night began.

UPDATE: Repairs were made to the Kaleetan and it was set to sail again on the 6:20 am ferry to Seattle.

I had time to ask Gov. Jay Inslee only one question at the christening of Bremerton’s new ferry today. But I knew what it was going to be.

It’s no secret Bremerton has often been left with the oldest and creakiest vessels in the fleet, especially when ferries break down. Meanwhile, Bainbridge Island, where Inslee happens to call home, generally maintains the largest and nicest of boats through it all. Ferries officials make a logical argument that Bainbridge’s ferry ridership is roughly three times that of Bremerton’s, though Bremerton’s is growing.

In my brief time with Inslee, as you can watch above, I asked him how he’ll feel about Bremerton getting the newest boat and freshest paint job. The governor didn’t miss a beat.

“I think I’m gonna come to Bremerton just so I can ride the Chimacum,” he said. “This is a beautiful boat.”

He added that he has a piece of the Kalakala on his desk, and that the iconic vessel once served Bremerton as its ferry.

I will add this: there’s no promise that the ferry system will always run the Chimacum to Bremerton — these are boats after all. Yet there’s good reason to think she’ll stick around for awhile. For one, the vessel will be adorned with works of Bremerton art and history.

Here’s some more background about the ferry:

When the Chimacum became “whole.”

Why the 1,500 passenger vessel is being named after Chimacum.

When the vessel’s keel was laid.

See you in 2017, Chimacum. Here’s some more photos from the day.

Many of you have pointed out the Bremerton ferry has been sailing slightly strangely lately. The vessels running to Seattle are slowing down more than their usual wake-restricted amounts through Rich Passage, and they’re hugging the coastline toward Illahee as they come and go from Sinclair Inlet.

So what gives?

My sources in the ferry system say that the Coast Guard has asked the ferries slow down and steer clear of the Port of Waterman dock along the shores of South Kitsap, until at least mid-October. The dock, once used as a port of call for the Mosquito Fleet of foot ferries, is being replaced, and the Coast Guard has issued a “no wake” zone around it for ferries, according to ferry spokeswoman Broch Bender.

She estimates the delay is adding between two and seven minutes or so to each sailing.

The pier has been a part of the Port of Waterman since 1923. Kitsap Sun Reporter Chris Henry wrote that it’s been “a gathering place for fishermen and crabbers,” for years, and is now a popular place to jig for squid.

Replacement for the aging dock is being funded by a state grant.

For the past few years, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the ridership numbers for the Bremerton-Seattle ferry run. And the latest numbers out of the state ferry system, I must say, are intriguing.

UPDATE, 1.14.16: What we know: ridership grew about 14 percent between 2013 and 2015, with close to 2.7 million riding in the latest year, according to state ferries’ statistics.

To quantify that, it means 366,425 more people rode the Bremerton route in 2015 than did in 2013.

Bremerton’s outpacing the overall growth of the system, whose ridership rose 5 percent in the same period.

So what gives? A statistical anomaly or something permanent? I asked Raymond Deardorf, planning director for the Washington State Ferries, for his thoughts. He mentioned the economy plays a role in the whole system, and it doesn’t hurt to have the Seahawks in Seattle.

“Looks like the route ridership has returned to its pre-recession levels,” Deardorf said. “And maybe even exceeding those levels.”

Why is that, you ask? Here are my theories:

It’s the economy, stupid: we know that the Great Recession is over. So more people could be riding as the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard’s employment near 13,000. Ridership earlier this decade has reached 2.5 million before. And, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Seattle’s economy really couldn’t get much hotter. But the economic changes should affect all ferry runs and the system as a whole isn’t growing as fast as Bremerton’s.

Nimitz Arrival: In January 2015, a second aircraft carrier arrived in Bremerton, bringing about 3,000 sailors and their families to the Kitsap peninsula. It will be here through at least 2018.

The Seahawk effect: Yep, we’ve got one heck of a football team in the Pacific Northwest, don’t we? They’ve been packing the ferries for each home game. That might result in some higher numbers but remember that the vessels only hold between 1,200 and 2,000 passengers. That would explain a little jump but also remember the Seahawks have been packing them in for more than a few years now.

On a related note, the Mariners’ potential of late has more people going to Safeco (notice I said “potential”) which could be helping the uptick.

Avoiding 305: There’s an imaginary line through Kitsap County where Seattle commuters who live here make a choice to go to either Bremerton’s ferry terminal or Bainbridge. We can debate where that line is but I think it’s moving north, with more commuters choosing Bremerton over Bainbridge. Why? The nightmare each day on Highway 305 as Bainbridge’s ferries arrive in Winslow. Trying to drive off the island during the commuting hours is just brutal.

While Bainbridge has more ferry runs and a shorter crossing time than Bremerton, Highway 305 congestion could be bumping some riders to the latter run. Case in point: While Bremerton’s run grew almost nine percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared to last, Bainbridge’s actually fell a half-percent.

After posting this on Facebook, many readers argue that the state ferry system has been more accurately counting customers heading to Bremerton. It’s no secret that many of us have returned to Bremerton over the years only to find the ticket booth attendant had registered our car to the Bainbridge route.

I thought not only about the northern commute but the southern one as well, in which many ferry over to Seattle and then drive back around via the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. But I can’t see how that is changing ridership, especially with so much of the Seattle waterfront torn up and under construction right now.

I’d encourage you to check out the numbers for yourself and weigh in on my hypotheses. And feel free to add some of your own.