WSF Etiquette for Motorcycles

[snowmonkey]

The Seattle P-I published a handy guide to ferry loading etiguette for motorcycles. The guide is available here https://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportati...esonferries.asp

 

[tcfjr]

I could have used this last year on the way to and from WFO-4 - I needed three different ferry rides. Thanks for the link.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Man, my head was spinning from all the different loading etiquettes! :blink:

Good post to let non-locals know the rules...different they may be from one ferry to another.

 

[radman]

except on the 5th Tuesday (leap year exception, see para 9c) must start on right side of traffic, end on left (tollbooth color variance, see para 12,13a).  All others must start using kick (except those without, see para 24 a,b,d,e) and end as close as possible.

I'll take the long way or swim, thx anyway.... :blink:

 

[shu]

except on the 5th Tuesday (leap year exception, see para 9c) must start on right side of traffic, end on left (tollbooth color variance, see para 12,13a).  All others must start using kick (except those without, see para 24 a,b,d,e) and end as close as possible.

I'll take the long way or swim, thx anyway.... :blink:

trust me, even the locals find it confusing. i live on whidbey island so i know OUR rules, but i've almost been beat up for blowing by a line of cars waiting to go to the san juans...

on your home route, it IS a huge benefit. one thing that will make me ride in the rain !!

shu

 

[FJR1300]

The Seattle P-I published a handy guide to ferry loading etiguette for motorcycles.

What the heck is overloading?

 

[shu]

The Seattle P-I published a handy guide to ferry loading etiguette for motorcycles.

What the heck is overloading?

all the ferry docks have a holding area that holds a certain number of cars that have already paid and are waiting to load on the next or current boat to dock. most of us know "how much dock" each boat can hold. like if you are at keystone (in a cage), and you are not in lanes 1-7, you are on the NEXT boat. but i digress...

once the dock or holding area is full, folks in cars have to sit in line on the shoulder or in a designated ferry waiting lane before they can even GET to the ticket booth as the boat loads and the dock empties. this i what they are calling "overloading". locals call it "rush hour" or "friday afternoon" or "sunday afternoon", and of course the direction matters. it's easy to get ON island on sunday and off island on friday. mostly....

if you are here and visiting, the safest thing to do is blow by all the cars in line, pull off next to the ticket booth (since you won't have a book of commuter tickets in your fairing), dismount and go up to the NON-car side of the ticket booth and stand at the window. the seller will either sell you a ticket and tell you where to take your bike (usually up front of all the cars), or in the RARE case will tell you to go back and get in line. this will ONLY happen on a couple of runs in the whole puget sound region, and you will only lose a couple spots in line. they'll still give you priority loading once you get past the ticket booth anyway.

simple, huh?

c'mon out. it's beautiful here.

shu

ferry dock cameras, if you're interested....

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/cameras/

shu

 

[escapefjrtist]

@ shu,

I understand at Mukilteo that bikes can blow the line, go to parking at the front and then walk back for a ticket. But...on the return side at Clinton can you do the same thing? I asked one of the booth attendants and he made it sound like I better stay in line, get a ticket and then go to the front...

BTW, might meet you sometime. I have relatives near Greenbank, and come to the island quite often.

--G

 

[snowmonkey]

@ shu,
I understand at Mukilteo that bikes can blow the line, go to parking at the front and then walk back for a ticket. But...on the return side at Clinton can you do the same thing? I asked one of the booth attendants and he made it sound like I better stay in line, get a ticket and then go to the front...

--G

On the Clinton side it's the same as Mukilteo except instead of parking up front you're suppose to pull over by the ticket booth. One night as I was walking over to purchase my ticket the next car in line started to pull forward. The attendant stopped the car because as she explain to the motorist, motorcycles go first.

 

[gasman]

c'mon out. it's beautiful here.

Shu, wife and I were on Whidbey last yr. caught the ferry at Port Townsend after coming up the penninsula. You're not kidding it's beautiful there, when we got on the bridge over Deception Pass we were stunned by the beauty of the place, and we live in Colorado where it's not exactly an ugly place to live. Looking forward to another trip out there sometime. JB

 

[escapefjrtist]

Thanks snowmonkey. I'll try this next time.

--G

 

[shu]

@ shu,

I understand at Mukilteo that bikes can blow the line, go to parking at the front and then walk back for a ticket. But...on the return side at Clinton can you do the same thing? I asked one of the booth attendants and he made it sound like I better stay in line, get a ticket and then go to the front...

--G

On the Clinton side it's the same as Mukilteo except instead of parking up front you're suppose to pull over by the ticket booth. One night as I was walking over to purchase my ticket the next car in line started to pull forward. The attendant stopped the car because as she explain to the motorist, motorcycles go first.

well, the confusion here is from the term "line". there are TWO lines, sort of. those that already have tickets and are waiting on the ramp in multiple lines for the ferry, and those who are stacked up waiting to even get a chance to go to the ticket booth. basically, you do NOT have to sit in line to wait for a ticket. if there are cars in line for tickets, you can blow that line and go right to the ticket booth. on the clinton side there is a different light for your lane, so you will have to wait for YOUR light to go green. if you coulda made it faster in the car lane, then that's where you shoulda been. but in any case, once you BUY your ticket, you go around all the cars on the ramp and go up to the front of the dock. as soon as the passengers load, you will load.

if the cars are already loading when you get there, you get your ticket and go AROUND all the cars, and wait in the motorcycle area at the front of the line. when the last car(s) that will fit on the boat are loaded, you will get to load on the back of the boat, even though there are still cars in line on the ramp that bought tickets before you. you are smaller, so you always get on. sometimes on the front, sometimes on the back, but you always get on.

another thing: buy your return ticket when you get your "going there" ticket. that way you don't have to screw with the ticket booth at ALL on the return trip...

as to the rest of you: if you get up this way, give a buzz and i'll try to bust loose and ride a bit. i'm not the fastest, but i know some pretty cool roads around here.... and if you EVER thought about keeping your DEER radar turned way up high, this is the place to do it. dang road rats are everywhere around here....

cheers.

shu

 

[meosborn]

Rode through on Saturday. On the Mukilteo side I was told by the guy at the ticket booth that I should have just rode up to the motorcycle waiting area and then bought my ticket at the passenger booth. He just went ahead and sold me one though since I was already off my bike. Later, while I was waiting to load, there were a few other bikes that pulled up to the waiting area and then went to the passenger booth to by their tickets.

That was a really nice ride all the way up Whidbey Island and then along backroads to Stanwood before I jumped back on I-5 to get back to Lynnwood.

 

[snowmonkey]

That was a really nice ride all the way up Whidbey Island and then along backroads to Stanwood before I jumped back on I-5 to get back to Lynnwood.

You shoulda stayed on Pioneer Hwy from Stanwood to Silvana. It's a nice piece of twisty road that takes you pass some farms. It also saves you from having to ride that much more of the slab.

 

[meosborn]

You're right, we took Pioneer all the way until it crossed I-5. Stanwood was just the last town that I remembered off the top of my head. I just checked out the map and Silvana was the last town that we went through before we got back on the highway.

If I had a better map at the time I would have caught Marine Dr in Stanwood and taken that all the way down through Everett.

 

[shu]

Rode through on Saturday. On the Mukilteo side I was told by the guy at the ticket booth that I should have just rode up to the motorcycle waiting area and then bought my ticket at the passenger booth. He just went ahead and sold me one though since I was already off my bike. Later, while I was waiting to load, there were a few other bikes that pulled up to the waiting area and then went to the passenger booth to by their tickets.
That was a really nice ride all the way up Whidbey Island and then along backroads to Stanwood before I jumped back on I-5 to get back to Lynnwood.

yeah, just to make it confusing in mukilteo, they have ticket sellers down at the bottom, but only on weekends. especially if you arrive just as the boat is finishing unloading, it is a pain in the arse. i have commuter tix, so i just go up front no matter what, but since you never know exactly when there are sellers down below, just do what you did. no worries. claim "tourista" and you will be treated well...

ride whidbey. but watch the speed on the main highway. the staters there are NOTORIOUS for writing chippie tickets, and i got a firefighters union sticker on my scoot.

cheers.

shu

 

[bikerschim]

4,637 ferries in the state and NOT ONE is the same, there is an entire team of over 10,000 state employees sitting at desks coming up with all these different ways of ferry loading. Now I know what all my tax dollars are being spent on.... :drinks:

So just load up and play dumb, the ferry workers get a lot of that. Can't imagine why? :fans:

 

[meosborn]

claim "tourista" and you will be treated well...

Not too hard since I still have CA plates on my bike. On the other hand, it also seems to attract extra attention from the local law enforcement. I plan on having that problem solved once my CA registration has expired. Just transferred up here from San Diego and plan on making this move a little more permanent. Of course, plans are always changed by Uncle Sam.