Alaska Ferries - Local Commuting Disocounts? (Anchorage, Ketchikan: how much, house, live in)

[DreamworksSKG]

Do the alaskan car ferries have local commuting discounts and for the general public how much do they cost (I hear they arent cheap normally)
Is it worth it to come to alaska by ferry??

My main question is could you live in some of the cities like Valdez/Kodiak etc. and commute to Alaska via the ferry? (Homer) etc.?

-jeff
Winchester, MA

[Metlakatla]

The ferry isn't really used for commuting here. It's not like in Washington where you can get on a ferry and be on another island in half an hour or so, and where they come and go several times a day. The distances involved here are way to long for that. I use the ferry for part of my commute but I stay where I work for two weeks or three weeks at a time and the company pays the travel costs.

[Xa'at]

No, the ferries move pretty slow. I could see you maybe commuting on one of dayboats, but generally if you want to commute between these cities and don't want to drive (the drive from Valdez to Homer would be a KILLER) you'd better find a couple of other people to ride-share a plane with you.
I am a little confused by your wording, though. Kodiak, Valdez, and Homer are ALL in Alaska. Of the three, Kodiak is the only one off the road system (unless there is a bridge and I forgot about it). They are all pretty small towns... if you are going to be commuting out of them, chances are good you're going to Anchorage.

[DannyL]

be advised folks there is a good chance (not in writing yet, but possible) the ferry run between Bellingham to Juneau (or to the southeast) will be cut back to once a week now, not twice.
which means it will fill up QUICK, especially vehicle space. some people just may find themselves stuck somewhere.

[User 2]

Originally Posted by DannyL

be advised folks there is a good chance (not in writing yet, but possible) the ferry run between Bellingham to Juneau (or to the southeast) will be cut back to once a week now, not twice.
which means it will fill up QUICK, especially vehicle space. some people just may find themselves stuck somewhere.

As bad a Robin Taylor was, the current ferry overseers are worse.

The House has been holding hearings and if you've not caught any coverage, the pathetic performance of DOT's commissioners has been abysmal. One deputy commissioner has been on the job more than a year and he can't name the ports the ferry system serves, ......it's no wonder they can't figure out a schedule when they don't even know where the boats are supposed to go.

Deputy Transportation Commissioner Dennis Hardy, (the same commissioner who couldn't name the ports the ferry system serves), said, the Alaska Marine Highway System will cut ferry service from Bellingham, Washington by half, .......which would result in one trip per week.

The Legislature will be looking to provide better stewardship for the ferry system. They are in session and we can hope for better than has been forthcoming from the current administration.
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[DannyL]

absolutely, their biggest problem is they have no idea what a proper budget is to run the ferry on.
they just throw a $$$$ amount up in the air, and hope they can live with it.

[User 2]

there's some talk of taking the ferry system out of DOT hands, creating a separate authority just for the ferry system.

I don't know that creating another separate entity is such a good idea, but it's clear that an administration whose goal is to eliminate as much as they can, can't very well serve to manage what they hope to eliminate in an efficient manner.

Like anything else, one gets what they asked for,

....not understanding that they asked for exactly what they got is no excuse.

What's clear to me is that going forward we need to support those individuals who want to preserve and expand upon what the ferry system provides.

Creating another entity which will have to fight for it's own slice of the budget doesn't seem to me a very efficient way to do it.

I'd rather the DOT be given into the hands of commissioners who would want to actually improve transportation in the state.

Creating separate 'marketing authorities' for any division that can be carved out seems only to create more unnecessary layers, and from the rhetoric, despite the clear evidence of action, ......that's not supposed to be the goal.
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[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by DannyL

be advised folks there is a good chance (not in writing yet, but possible) the ferry run between Bellingham to Juneau (or to the southeast) will be cut back to once a week now, not twice.
which means it will fill up QUICK, especially vehicle space. some people just may find themselves stuck somewhere.

Yep.

And even worse they are sending the Fairweather out to Sitka, and down to Petersburg. Those loads are extremely empty. The Fairweather does better in Lynn Canal. In its first summer of operation the boat hauled more passengers than any other boat in the fleet.

[Metlakatla]

I see the Fairweather on drydock every time I go in or out of Ketchikan.

A few years ago we broke away from the Marine Highway and made our own ferry system on POW and the surrounding islands. We have a round trip to Ketchikan every day instead of one ferry once or twice a week.

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I see the Fairweather on drydock every time I go in or out of Ketchikan.

Every fall it goes down for some check ups. It should be out of Ketchikan as soon as the bolts arrive from Germany. They are hoping late this week or early next week it should be up in Juneau, and replacing the Chenega so it can go to Ketchikan.