SEATTLE – Ridership on state ferry routes continued to creep upwards in 2017, reaching a 15-year high.
Systemwide last year, the green and white boats carried nearly 24.5 million riders, a growth of about 250,000 — or 1 percent.
State ferries carried 10.6 million vehicles and 13.8 million passengers in 2017.
“We expect our ridership to continue to grow as more people move to Western Washington,” WSF head Amy Scarton said in a release. “As part of the state highway network, the ferry system is a critical link between more affordable housing on the west side of the sound and key employment centers on the east side.”
Bremerton walk-on passenger numbers saw a slight dip this summer as Kitsap Transit launched its new passenger-only ferry service to Seattle in July. That ridership slipped by about 4 percent – roughly 22,600 passengers – in the year’s third quarter, compared with a year ago.
WSF spokesman Justin Fujioka said that WSF has noted the dip and believes the new service could be a contributing factor but wants to see a few more months of data before drawing conclusions.
The biggest route growth in the system came on the Southworth to Fauntleroy leg of the triangle route, where ridership was up about 8 percent.
Ferries sees regional population growth and congestion on highways as contributing factors, Fujioka said.
"Alternate routes, I-5 and the Tacoma Narrows, have become more congested over the last year or two, and so more people are taking the ferry," he said. "It's probably a combination of factors related to whole regional network congestion."
Bainbridge and Bremerton routes both grew by about 1.5 percent while Kingston’s run crept up by about half a percentage point.
The Bainbridge-Seattle ferry run remained the system’s busiest in 2017, hauling 6.5 million riders. Other routes touching Kitsap: Kingston-Edmonds moved 4.1 million riders, followed by Bremerton-Seattle at 2.8 million, Southworth-Fauntleroy at 945,000 and Southworth-Vashon at 190,000.
