A tax increase to pay for passenger ferries across Puget Sound was defeated by voters — again — in Kitsap County on Tuesday.

After the second such defeat in four years, most reports say the idea of passenger ferries is dead. But another group says it’s just the idea of county-wide taxes for ferries that should be dropped: “The problem is not the voters. The problem is not the idea of foot ferries.” Instead local governments and nonprofits should have the authority to start such operations.

UPDATE:

I somehow missed this op-ed outlining five reasons to vote against the measure that was on the ballot. Two are convincing. Raising sales taxes is the knee-jerk mechanism to fund public needs in this state because of the stunted tax system. So why not goose demand (and generate revenue) by adding modest usage fees on arterials? The other is that Kitsap County shouldn’t bear the entire burden for a transit system that also benefits the Olympic Peninsula.

Any ferry user knows that more capacity is needed. Who is solving the basic problem that keep tripping up passenger service?