Washington state ferry chief David Moseley to resign

Washington State Ferries Director David Moseley announced his resignation Tuesday, effective April 15.

Moseley made the announcement during a weekly report on ferry activities. He’s been the Assistant Secretary for Washington State Ferries since 2008.

According to Moseley, the agency was in crisis when he started his job – in part because it had recently lost the motor vehicle excise tax as its main source of funding.

But in 2013, Moseley said 70 percent of WSF’s operating cost came from fares paid by customers. “I don’t know of any other major transportation system in the nation that has a higher fare-box recovery rate than ours,” he said.

He said improvements to the ferry system during his tenure included adding new ferries, doing better maintenance and preservation of existing ferries and building a stronger financial base.

In a release from Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson, she praised Moseley’s effort to better communicate with customers. She said he held more than 450 meetings in ferry communities, provided weekly ferry activities emails, and implemented online tools like “Fleet Watch” and “Terminal Conditions” to help customers plan.

Moseley said in the statement he’s pleased with the progress made but that it’s time for the next person to build on the successes, correct mistakes and continue to move the system forward.

According to Peterson, WSDOT will soon start a national candidate search to find the next ferry chief.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.