UTC looking at partial operations for Ride the Ducks

Leslie Holleran Jul 1, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>UTC looking at partial operations for Ride the Ducks</h1>
                <h2><p>Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Olympia to resolve whether Seattle’s Ride the Ducks tour business can resume operations.  The UTC staff recommends that Ride the Ducks only be allowed to use 10 of its 20 amphibious vehicles.</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/leslie-holleran-crosscut-com/">Leslie Holleran</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Olympia to resolve whether Seattle’s Ride the Ducks tour business can resume operations.  The UTC staff recommends that Ride the Ducks only be allowed to use 10 of its 20 amphibious vehicles.</p><p>The hearing follows UTC’s two and a half month-long investigation into Ride the Ducks' vehicle safety and maintenance. This past September, a Ride the Ducks vehicle crashed with a tour bus carrying students from North Seattle Community College on Seattle’s Aurora Bridge. Five people were killed and dozens of others injured in the accident.</p><p>The company can face substantial fines for safety and record-keeping violations. And the proposal requires the company to improve its operations or face closure. The UTC also released its <a href="http://www.utc.wa.gov/regulatedIndustries/transportation/TransportationDocuments/Ride%20the%20Ducks%20of%20Seattle%20TE-151906%20Staff%20Investigation.pdf?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">investigative report</a>.</p>
          </article>

Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Olympia to resolve whether Seattle’s Ride the Ducks tour business can resume operations. The UTC staff recommends that Ride the Ducks only be allowed to use 10 of its 20 amphibious vehicles.

The hearing follows UTC’s two and a half month-long investigation into Ride the Ducks' vehicle safety and maintenance. This past September, a Ride the Ducks vehicle crashed with a tour bus carrying students from North Seattle Community College on Seattle’s Aurora Bridge. Five people were killed and dozens of others injured in the accident.

The company can face substantial fines for safety and record-keeping violations. And the proposal requires the company to improve its operations or face closure. The UTC also released its investigative report.

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By Leslie Holleran

Leslie Holleran regularly writes about arts and culture for print and online publications. Her work has appeared in national dance publications and in Seattle newspapers and magazines.