Transportation leaders are looking at ways to lower the number of people who make reservations on the Keystone ferry but fail to show up.

To reduce the number of no-shows, officials are looking at instituting a deposit for riders who make a reservation.

Currently approximately 36 percent of the reservations made for the Port Townsend to Keystone route aren’t used. Riders aren’t faced with any consequences if they fail to show for their reservation.

“This is trying to get at the no-show issue on the Port Townsend run,” said Reema Griffith, executive director of the Washington State Transportation Commission of the possibility of a reservation deposit. “It’s created a lot of consternation and problems.”

The Transportation Commission is proposing to give the ferry system the authority to collect between a 25 percent to 100 percent deposit on a ferry fare. The ferry system is currently conducting a feasibility study that staff should have ready to present to the state Legislature in January.

Contact Whidbey News Times Staff reporter Nathan Whalen at nwhalen@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5058.

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