From the Seattle Times yesterday:

When I became a San Juan Islander in the late 1970s, the Washington ferries were a world marvel. Countless magazine articles extolled the ships. I remember a National Geographic piece describing people flying kites off a ferry stern. Seeing a green-and-white ferry pull into the dock took your breath away.

Today the ships are rust-streaked and embarrassing. The metal deck plates on some boats creak and wobble underfoot. Who knows what the girders hidden beneath look like, much less the engines. The galleys are closed as often as not, and dispensing machines have handwritten out-of-order signs taped on them. An Anacortes or Friday Harbor ferry leaving on time is a godsend; too often islanders or delivery drivers arrive only to discover the scheduled ferry is canceled. That means a wait of hours for the next one. That takes your breath away, too.

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/save-our-ferry-system-a-plea-for-help-from-an-islander/

From Trip Adviser in 2016:

Washington State Ferries operate in island archipelago near Seattle, one of the most affluent areas on the globe, comparable to CalMac near Glasgow but serving fewer communities and in milder less stormy seas.

Imagine the media coverage of CalMac if it was in a comparable state to WSF?

How is CalMac performing, in the background of media frothing over delays in building new ones?

100% of more than 400 sailings to 50 ports with 34 vessels, on time. The previous day? Only 98.4%. The average for the week? 99%. The seasonal average? 95% on time.

How is WSF doing? Publish daily performance data? You some kinda communist boy!?

Footnote: BC Ferries make money? They sure do, for shareholders, while passengers rage against poor service.