Guemes Island Ferry

Ferry Operations Manager: Rachel Rowe

2026 Ferry Budget and Fare Schedule Proposal

The Skagit County Commissioners has adopted the 2026 ferry fare schedule via Resolution #R20250259. The new fare schedule takes effect on January 1, 2026. The Commissioners additionally approved Resolution #R20250260 to provide a method for riders with non-expiry COVID-19 punch cards to convert remaining rides from the paper punch card to the new electronic ticketing system.

The following documents have been prepared for review by the public and the County Commissioners:

The Skagit County ferry division budget will be considered for adoption along with the entire Skagit County budget on December 8th at 2:00 p.m. The preliminary 2026 Skagit County budget will be released on November 17, 2025. A public hearing will be held on the December 1st at 10:00 a.m. and written comments will be accepted from November 17th through December 1st at 4:30 p.m. More information on the 2026 budget can be found on the Budget and Finance Department website.

Previous Meetings

The Ferry Division held public work shops, presentations, and a public hearing with the County Commissioners to present the 2026 fare schedule this past fall. The meeting schedule is below along with recordings of each meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting HERE

You can also join a Commissioner meeting remotely by dialing 1-253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 871 8000 1980 Passcode: 143573

Date	Time	Meeting	Description	How to Join	Meeting Recordings
September 9th	1:00-2:30 p.m.	Non-televised Work Session	Initial review with County Commissioners of budget and ferry fare documents. **No public comment will be taken at this meeting.	Zoom and in-person, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon	Video
September 16th	8:30 – 9:30 a.m.	Televised Presentation	Ferry staff will present the proposed ferry fare schedule and fare setting methodology. **No public comment will be taken at this meeting.	TV21, Zoom, and in-person, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon	Video Presentation Slides
October 21st	1:00 – 2:30 p.m.	Public Hearing	Open public hearing to take feedback on 2026 ferry fare schedule.	TV21, Zoom, and in-person, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon	Video
October 28th	9:00 – 10:00 a.m.	Non-televised work session	Work session with Public Works staff to review and discuss public feedback on the proposed 2026 ferry fare schedule. **No public comment will be taken at this meeting.	How to join: Zoom and in-person, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon	Video
November 10th	1:00 – 2:00 p.m.	Televised Hearing	Commissioners will consider the 2026 ferry fare schedule for adoption.	TV21, Zoom, and in-person, 1800 Continental Place, Mount Vernon	Video

Background on Ferry Fare Methodology

On July 27, 2023, the Skagit County Commissioners adopted Resolution #20230152, amended by Resolution #R20250015, which sets the ferry fare revenue target methodology, including the formula used to calculate fares each year. The County Commissioners stated they intend to reach a 65% fare box recovery target by December 31, 2028, which requires ferry fares to increase steadily from 2023 – 2028 to reach that target.

The ferry division is directed to prepare an annual report pursuant to the revenue target formula found in Exhibit A of Resolution #20230152, amended by R20250015, and recommend a ferry rate schedule for the upcoming calendar year with an estimate of revenues based on those rates. The methodology for fare calculations uses the past two years of actual expenditures, the current year’s approved budget, and the next two year’s projected expenditures using cost escalation factors to establish the new ferry fare schedule.