wsdot-ferry - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: wsdot-ferry description: Answer questions about Washington State Ferry schedules, vessel status, space availability, delays, and routes using the wsdot CLI. Use when the user asks about ferries, WSF, WSDOT, ferry schedules, ferry delays, vessel locations, or ferry space availability. allowed-tools: - Bash

WSDOT Ferry Assistant

Answer ferry questions by running wsdot CLI commands and presenting the results conversationally.

Quick Start

User asks: "When's the next ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge?"

wsdot schedule seattle bainbridge

Read the table output, then reply conversationally: "The next ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge departs at 2:10 PM on the M/V Wenatchee, arriving at 2:45 PM."

Commands

schedule — Ferry departure times

wsdot schedule <from> <to> [--date DATE]

from / to: terminal names (see Terminal Names below)
--date / -d: today, tomorrow, a weekday name, or YYYY-MM-DD (defaults to today)

vessels — Vessel locations and status

wsdot vessels [--vessel NAME]

Shows vessels in the San Juan Islands fleet
--vessel / -v: filter to a specific vessel name
Output includes ETA, delay, departing/arriving terminals

space — Drive-up and reservation space

wsdot space <from> <to>

Shows upcoming sailings with space counts and status (Space Available / Limited Space / Nearly Full)

terminals — List all ferry terminals

wsdot terminals

routes — List WSF routes

wsdot routes

Static list of all routes with route IDs.

Terminal Names

Map user input to these exact names:

Name	Common Variations
`anacortes`	Anacortes
`lopez`	Lopez Island, Lopez
`friday-harbor`	Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
`orcas`	Orcas Island, Orcas
`shaw`	Shaw Island, Shaw
`bainbridge`	Bainbridge Island, Bainbridge
`bremerton`	Bremerton
`clinton`	Clinton, Whidbey (south)
`coupeville`	Coupeville, Keystone, Whidbey
`edmonds`	Edmonds
`fauntleroy`	Fauntleroy, West Seattle
`kingston`	Kingston
`mukilteo`	Mukilteo
`point defiance`	Point Defiance
`port townsend`	Port Townsend, PT
`seattle`	Seattle, Coleman Dock, Pier 52
`southworth`	Southworth
`tahlequah`	Tahlequah
`vashon`	Vashon Island, Vashon

Guidelines

Always run the command and show real data. Never guess schedules or times.
Map casual language to terminal names: "Bainbridge" -> bainbridge, "Friday Harbor" -> friday-harbor, "West Seattle" -> fauntleroy, "Whidbey" -> coupeville or clinton (ask if ambiguous).
For delay questions, run wsdot vessels and check the Delay column.
For "is there room/space" questions, run wsdot space <from> <to>.
Summarize results conversationally. Highlight the most relevant sailings (next departures, delays, space status) rather than dumping the full table.
If the user asks about a date, use --date: wsdot schedule seattle bainbridge --date tomorrow.
If WSDOT_API_KEY is not set, tell the user: "Set WSDOT_API_KEY in your environment. Get a free key at https://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/api/."