UPDATED: WSF Issues Contract Termination on New Ticketing & Reservation Project

UPDATED (in italics) April 12, 2026 - Washington State Ferries (WSF) has issued a contract termination letter to Anchor Operations and Reservations Tech Systems for the Ticketing and Reservation Modernization Project (TRM). Anchor was selected as the vendor in January 2025. Over the past year, the project has encountered significant delays and technical issues. According to WSF, approximately $773,000 was paid to Anchor, with an estimated reuse of about $432,000 of work completed. These figures do not include the cost of WSF staff assigned to the project nor that of the 3rd party quality assurance contractor.

The San Juan County FAC has previously asked in regular meetings that the project team engage in user testing of the product under development by local community members—something which has not happened to date. While WSF has indicated that they will be breaking the project into smaller modules for development and release, they have not yet indicated what kind of procurement process will take place or if work will be done internally as it was with the system we have now. New components are expected to be released starting late 2027 or early 2028 at the earliest. To date, a revised RFI/RFP has not been released.

Recent press about this contract termination includes an article in the Salish Current: "Collision course: Washington State Ferries terminates contract for streamlining reservations" in which County Councilmembers Fuller, McVeigh, and Paulsen (Chair) are quoted; and from the Journal of the San Juans:

”Ferry reservation modernization project sinks after contract cancellation”

Questions about this should be addressed to WSF Communications: wsfcomms@wsdot.wa.gov

Full text of WSF's announcement below:

Sent: Friday, March 6, 2026 4:43 PM
Subject: TRM Vendor Update

Good afternoon,

I’m writing to let you know that this afternoon Washington State Ferries issued a contract termination letter to Anchor Operating System, the vendor for the Ticketing and Reservations Modernization project, so we will be looking for a new vendor.

While we’ve made great progress on replacing our existing ticketing and reservations systems, the project has seen many challenges, including two delays in 2025. We need to find a vendor, or set of vendors, who can provide a reliable system that performs well for our customers and employees, and has the technical support needed for our daily operations.

Moving forward, we’ll restructure the project into smaller, more manageable components to minimize risk and disruption to WSF operations. While we don’t yet have a clear timeline for project implementation, we anticipate that our customers will start having an improved online experience in late 2027 or early 2028, at the earliest.

I want to recognize all the WSF employees who’ve worked very hard on this project, spending months working through challenges with the vendor. Much of the work completed with will still be used, helping us start future project work on a solid foundation.

Lastly, I know this is disappointing news for customers and community partners who were looking forward to more modern, upgraded systems, especially those on our routes that take vehicle reservations. This was not an easy or quick decision, but we’re confident that it is the best decision to ensure a successful project.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Cheers, Tally
Tally Teal (she/her)
Community and Legislative Liaison
Washington State Ferries