Like everything else, ferry tickets have gone electronic but there's been little effect on traffic around the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal.

Ferry commuters and other frequent-ferry passengers used to buy discount paper tickets by the book. On May 9, the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal changed to Washington State Ferries' new "Wave2Go" electronic ticketing system. Passengers can now buy online bar-coded, multi-ride tickets printed at home and swiped through a scanner.

The state ferry system also sells cards electronically loaded with 20 rides. A ticket seller scans the card and one ride is digitally removed for each sailing. When the rides are used up, the card can be automatically reloaded.

There had been concern that adapting to the new ticketing system might cause delays and congestion on Fauntleroy Way.

"So far it's going fairly well," said Gary Dawson, a Fauntleroy representative on the South Sound Ferry Advisory Committee. "They haven't had any significant problems. We haven't seen any slowdowns or anything of that nature."

Walk-on passengers at Fauntleroy now swipe their cards past scanners at the front of three new turnstiles in the terminal building at the end of the dock. Two new touch-screen kiosks also have been installed in the terminal building, where walk-on passengers can purchase tickets. Passengers can still buy passenger tickets at the terminal's ticket window, which is scheduled to be open from 2 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

During commuting hours, car and truck drivers with e-tickets are urged to use Fauntleroy's northern toll booth, she said.

Ticket books are no longer for sale. But tickets purchased under the old system will be honored for the usual 90-day period.

During a visit to the terminal Thursday, several passengers tried to scan the wrong side of the card, but ticket seller Lori Cable was there to show them the correct way to use the scanner.

"Instead of pulling off one paper ticket from a book of 20, you just drop one electronically," she said.

Ferry employees like Cable are temporarily assigned to terminals to assist ferry riders as they get used to the new e-ticketing system. They will continue with their public instruction sessions for a couple of weeks to help the public adjust to the changes.

A key difference between electronic ticketing and the old paper tickets is the new system is for passenger tickets only. Under the previous system, paper tickets were good for cars and drivers as well as passengers. Now car and driver are charged separately.

At the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, ferry workers have been going car to car in the queue of vehicles waiting to board and scanning tickets with hand-held scanners before they get to the ticket booth.

"It's a good system," said Cable, who worked with and helped test the e-ticket equipment for a year. "It will get better when everybody gets used to it."

To purchase ferry tickets online, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/wave2go

Tim St. Clair can be reached at 932-0300 or timstc@robinsonnews.com