Locale | Washington |
---|---|
Waterway | Puget Sound, Salish Sea |
Transit type | Ferry |
Owner | Washington State Department of Transportation |
Operator | Washington State Department of Transportation |
Began operation | June 1, 1951 |
No. of lines | 10 |
No. of vessels | 21 |
No. of terminals | 20 |
Daily ridership | 43,200 (weekdays, Q4 2023) [1] |
Yearly ridership | 18,661,400 (2023) [2] |
Website | wsdot |
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals located around Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands, designated as part of the state highway system. The agency maintains a fleet of 21 vessels that are able to carry passengers and vehicles.
The ferry system carried a total of 18.66 million riders in 2023—9.69 million passengers and 8.97 million vehicles. [3] WSF is the largest ferry system in the United States and the second-largest vehicular ferry system in the world behind BC Ferries. [4] The state ferries carried an average of 43,200 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The ferry system has its origins in the "mosquito fleet", a collection of small steamer lines serving the Puget Sound area during the later part of the nineteenth century and early part of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 1930s, two lines remained: the Puget Sound Navigation Company (known as the Black Ball Line) and the Kitsap County Transportation Company. A strike in 1935 caused the KCTC to close, leaving only the Black Ball Line. [5]
Toward the end of the 1940s, the Black Ball Line wanted to increase its fares, to compensate for increased wage demands from the ferry workers' unions, but the state refused to allow this, and so the Black Ball Line shut down. In 1951, the state bought nearly all of Black Ball's ferry assets for $5 million (Black Ball retained five vessels of its fleet). [6] The state government intended to run ferry service only until cross-sound bridges could be built, but these were never approved and left the ferries as the only means of crossing for vehicles. [7]
The new system was operated by the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority, which ordered ten new vessels that could carry 60 to 100 vehicles. A set of revenue bonds were also issued to purchase the 16 vessels and 20 terminals of the Puget Sound Navigational Company for a total of $4.94 million. The ten initial routes were reduced to eight by the end of the year. [8] A route between Port Townsend and Keystone on Whidbey Island was launched in June 1974 to replace a privately-run service that had lost its franchise. [9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, WSF reduced service on most routes and suspended trips to Sidney on the Anacortes–San Juan Islands route. The loss of workers who retired, transferred, or were fired during the pandemic caused delays and trip cancellations as service and ridership began to recover in 2021 and 2022, while vessel replacement also ran behind schedule. [10] By early 2023, full levels of service were restored on four routes but remained limited across much of the system; the Sidney route is not expected to re-enter service until 2030. [11] Staffing issues, particularly among ship captains and mates, continue to prevent the full restoration of service on the Seattle–Bremerton and Fauntleroy–Vashon–Southworth routes. [12] As mitigation for the delay in restoring the Seattle–Bremerton run's second vessel, WSF funded additional trips on the parallel Kitsap Fast Ferries that serves both terminals. [13]
WSF has 10 routes that serve 20 terminals in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea in Western Washington. [4] The busiest route is the Seattle–Bainbridge Island ferry, which carried 4.8 million total riders in 2023; the Mukilteo–Clinton ferry carried 2.1 million total vehicles in 2023, the most of any route. [3] [14]
Route name | Terminals | State route designation [15] | Annual ridership [16] | Annual vehicles carried [16] | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anacortes–Sidney BC (Service suspended) | Sidney, British Columbia | Friday Harbor, San Juan Island | Anacortes | SR 20 Spur | 123,001 | 42,589 |
| |
Anacortes–San Juan Islands | Friday Harbor, San Juan Island | 2,009,438 | 947,064 |
| ||||
Lopez Island | ||||||||
Shaw Island | ||||||||
Orcas Island | ||||||||
Interisland | Friday Harbor, San Juan Island | Orcas Island | Shaw Island | Lopez Island | ||||
Port Townsend–Coupeville | Port Townsend | Coupeville, Whidbey Island | SR 20 | 819,285 | 372,130 |
| ||
Mukilteo–Clinton | Clinton, Whidbey Island | Mukilteo | SR 525 | 4,073,761 | 2,234,650 | |||
Edmonds–Kingston | Kingston | Edmonds | SR 104 | 4,114,181 | 2,127,315 | |||
Seattle–Bainbridge Island | Winslow, Bainbridge Island | Seattle (Colman Dock) | SR 305 | 6,429,853 | 1,929,617 | |||
Seattle–Bremerton | Bremerton | SR 304 | 2,739,926 | 673,815 | ||||
Fauntleroy–Vashon | Vashon Island | West Seattle (Fauntleroy) | SR 160 | 3,059,587 | 1,738,721 |
| ||
Fauntleroy–Southworth | Southworth | |||||||
Southworth–Vashon | Southworth | Vashon Island | 200,672 | 109,548 | ||||
Point Defiance–Tahlequah | Tahlequah, Vashon Island | Tacoma (Point Defiance) | SR 163 | 812,786 | 473,924 |
In 2022, Washington State Ferries had an operating budget of $282.5 million and spent approximately $16.47 per passenger trip. [18] The system has over 1,500 employees, but had had crew shortages in the early 2020s that have led to sailing cancellations and deferred maintenance. [19] Onboard food service, primarily through the ship galley and vending machines, is operated by contractor Sodexo Live. [20]
The agency allows weddings and other celebrations to take place on board ferries, as well as the scattering of cremated remains with advance reservations. [21]
As of April 17,2020 [update] , there are 21 ferries on Puget Sound operated by the state. [22] The largest vessels in this fleet carry up to 1,791 passengers and 202 vehicles. They are painted in a distinctive white and green trim paint scheme, and feature double-ended open vehicle decks and bridges at each end so that they do not need to turn around. [23]
WSF plans to electrify its fleet over 20 years. By 2040, it intends to build 16 new hybrid-electric vessels and convert six others to have hybrid propulsion. This will reduce carbon emissions by up 180,000 tons annually and save $19 million per year in diesel fuel costs. [24] The first vessel to undergo conversion to use hybrid-electric propulsion is MV Wenatchee, which will be converted from 2023 to 2024. [25] The program was originally expected to begin in 2022 with a new boat constructed by Vigor Industrial, but cost overruns and disagreements led to delays. Vigor had been the sole shipbuilder for Washington State Ferries since 1997. [26]
As of 2023 [update] , 9 of the 21 active ferries maintained by Washington State Ferries are considered to be in good condition. Cancellation of sailings due to mechanical problems and urgent maintenance increased in the 2010s and 2020s. [26]
The ferry fleet consists of the following vessels: [22]
Class | Ferry name | Year built | Auto capacity | Passenger capacity | Speed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Evergreen State | MV Tillikum | 1959 | 87 | 548 | 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) | |
Super | MV Kaleetan | 1967 | 144 | 1,195 | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) | |
MV Yakima | 1967 | 144 | 1,195 | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) | ||
Jumbo | MV Spokane | 1972 | 188 | 1,793 | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) | |
MV Walla Walla | 1973 | 188 | 1,793 | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) | ||
Issaquah | MV Issaquah | 1979 | 124 | 1,196 | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) | Auto capacity increased in 1989. |
MV Kittitas | 1980 | 124 | 1,196 | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) | Auto capacity increased in 1990. | |
MV Kitsap | 1980 | 124 | 1,196 | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) | Auto capacity increased in 1992. | |
MV Cathlamet | 1981 | 124 | 1,196 | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) | Auto capacity increased in 1993. | |
MV Chelan | 1981 | 124 | 1,090 | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) | Auto capacity increased in 2001. Upgraded to meet SOLAS safety standards for international service on Sidney, BC route in 2005. | |
MV Sealth | 1982 | 90 | 1,196 | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) | ||
Jumbo Mark-II | MV Tacoma | 1997 | 202 | 1,791 | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) | |
MV Wenatchee | 1998 | 202 | 1,791 | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) | ||
MV Puyallup | 1999 | 202 | 1,791 | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) | ||
Kwa-di Tabil | MV Chetzemoka | 2010 | 64 | 748 | 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) | |
MV Salish | 2011 | 64 | 748 | 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) | ||
MV Kennewick | 2011 | 64 | 748 | 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) | ||
Olympic | MV Tokitae | 2014 | 144 | 1,500 | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) | |
MV Samish | 2015 | 144 | 1,500 | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) | ||
MV Chimacum | 2017 | 144 | 1,500 | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) | ||
MV Suquamish | 2018 | 144 | 1,500 | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
Since the beginning of state-run ferry service in 1951, WSF has retired many vessels as they have become older, too expensive to operate or maintain, or have become too small to provide adequate ferry service. WSF owned passenger-only vessels between 1985 and 2009, but after discontinuing its two passenger-only routes in the 2000s, WSF has sold its passenger-only ferries to other operators.
Below is a list of ferries that WSF has retired since 1951. Unless otherwise noted, all vessels introduced in 1951 were acquired from the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSN), also known as the Black Ball Line, when the state took over the company's routes and ferryboats in Puget Sound.
Ferry name | Class | Year built (rebuilt) | Year in service | Year retired | Auto capacity | Passenger capacity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MV Chippewa | None | 1900 (1928/ 1932) | 1951 | 1964 | 52 | 950 | Converted to a car ferry in 1926 |
MV Leschi | None | 1913 | 1951 | 1967 | 40 | 453 | Previously owned by King County and used on Lake Washington |
SS San Mateo | None | 1922 | 1951 | 1969 | 50 | 659 | Purchased by PSN in 1941 |
SS Shasta | None | 1922 | 1951 | 1958 | 55 | 468 | Purchased by PSN in 1941 |
MV Rosario | None | 1923 (1931) | 1951 | 1951 | 33 | 312 | |
MV Kitsap (1925) | Anderson | 1925 | 1951 | 1961 | 32 | 325 | |
MV Crosline | None | 1925 (1947) | 1951 | 1967 | 30 | 300 | Purchased by the state in 1947 |
MV Kehloken | Wood Electric | 1926 | 1951 | 1972 | 50 | 770 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 |
MV Kalakala | None | 1926 (1935) | 1951 | 1967 | 110 | 1943 | Originally built as MV Peralta in 1926; rebuilt as Kalakala in 1935 using Peralta's hull |
MV Enetai | Steel Electric | 1927 | 1951 | 1967 | 90 | 1500 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 and converted to a single-ended ferry |
MV Willapa | Steel Electric | 1927 | 1951 | 1967 | 90 | 1500 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 and converted to a single-ended ferry |
MV Chetzemoka (1927) | Wood Electric | 1927 | 1951 | 1973 | 50 | 400 | Purchased by PSN in 1938 |
MV Quinault | Steel Electric | 1927 (1958/ 1985) | 1951 | 2007 | 59 | 616 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 |
MV Illahee | Steel Electric | 1927 (1958/ 1986) | 1951 | 2007 | 59 | 616 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 |
MV Nisqually | Steel Electric | 1927 (1958/ 1987) | 1951 | 2007 | 59 | 616 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 |
MV Klickitat | Steel Electric | 1927 (1958/ 1981) | 1951 | 2007 | 64 | 412 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 |
MV Klahanie | Wood Electric | 1928 | 1951 | 1972 | 50 | 601 | Purchased by PSN in 1940 |
MV Skansonia | None | 1929 | 1951 | 1969 | 32 | 465 | Operated under a state contract since 1940 after the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed |
MV Vashon | Anderson | 1930 | 1951 | 1980 | 50 | 646 | |
MV Olympic | None | 1938 | 1954 | 1993 | 55 | 605 | Purchased by WSF in 1954 |
MV Rhododendron | None | 1947 (1990) | 1954 | 2012 | 48 | 546 | Purchased by WSF in 1954, sold to Atlantic Capes Fisheries in 2013 |
MV Evergreen State | Evergreen State | 1954 (1988) | 1954 | 2016 | 87 | 854 | |
MV Kulshan | None | 1954 | 1970 | 1982 | 65 | 350 | Purchased by WSF in 1970, sold in 1982 and renamed MV Governor |
MV Klahowya | Evergreen State | 1958 (1995) | 1958 | 2017 | 87 | 792 | |
MV Hyak | Super | 1966 | 1967 | 2019 | 144 | 2000 | |
MV Hiyu | None | 1967 | 1967 | 2016 | 34 | 199 | |
MV Elwha | Super | 1967 (1991) | 1968 | 2020 | 144 | 1069 | Upgraded to meet SOLAS standards for Sidney, BC. |
MV Tyee | None | 1985 | 1985 | 2003 | 0 | 250 | Operating as M/V Glacier Express in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska as of 2013 [28] [29] |
MV Kalama | Skagit/Kalama | 1989 | 1989 | 2009 | 0 | 230 | Sold in 2011 |
MV Skagit | Skagit/Kalama | 1989 | 1989 | 2009 | 0 | 230 | Sold in 2011; capsized on July 18, 2012 |
MV Chinook | Passenger-Only Fast Ferry | 1998 | 1998 | 2008 | 0 | 350 | Sold to Golden Gate Ferries, renamed MV Golden Gate |
MV Snohomish | Passenger-Only Fast Ferry | 1999 | 1999 | 2008 | 0 | 350 | Sold to Golden Gate Ferries, renamed MV Napa |
State Route 104 (SR 104) is a 31.75-mile-long (51.10 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving four counties: Jefferson on the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap on the Kitsap Peninsula, and Snohomish and King in the Puget Sound region. It begins south of Discovery Bay at U.S. Route 101 (US 101) and crosses the Hood Canal Bridge over Hood Canal to the terminus of SR 3 near Port Gamble. SR 104 continues southeast onto the Edmonds–Kingston Ferry to cross the Puget Sound and intersects SR 99 and Interstate 5 (I-5) before ending at SR 522 in Lake Forest Park. SR 104 also has a short spur route that connects the highway to SR 99 at an at-grade signal on the Snohomish–King county line.
State Route 525 (SR 525) is a 30.68-mile-long (49.37 km) state highway located in Snohomish and Island counties in the western region of the U.S. state of Washington. SR 525 begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) and I-405 in Lynnwood and travels north to SR 99 as a four-lane controlled-access freeway. From Lynnwood, the highway serves Mukilteo and becomes the terminus of SR 526 before taking its ferry route to Clinton on Whidbey Island. SR 525 traverses the island's interior as part of the Whidbey Island Scenic Byway before the designation ends at an intersection with SR 20 south of Coupeville.
Kitsap Transit is a public transit agency serving Kitsap County, Washington, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The system is based in Bremerton and operates bus service on 40 fixed routes, a foot ferry, a vanpool system, worker-driver services, and dial-a-ride services. The Kitsap Fast Ferries are also operated by Kitsap Transit. In 2023, the system had a total ridership of 2,739,600 and over 8,000 passengers on an average weekday in 2022.
The Keller Ferry or Clark Ferry, is a ferry crossing on Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in the US state of Washington. The crossing carries State Route 21 between the Colville Indian Reservation in Ferry County and Clark in Lincoln County. The ferry has been in operation since the 1890s and under state control since 1930. During that time, five vessels have served the crossing, including the Martha S., which operated from 1948 to 2013, and the current ferry, the M/V Sanpoil.
The MV Walla Walla is a Jumbo-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
The MV Cathlamet is an Issaquah-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.
MV Golden Gate is a passenger-only fast ferry operated by Golden Gate Ferries.
The Steel Electric-class ferries are a class of auto/passenger ferries that became part of the Washington State Ferry System when Puget Sound Navigation Company was acquired in 1951. They were built in San Francisco Bay for service on Southern Pacific and Northwestern Pacific Railroad routes across the bay.
The King County Water Taxi is a passenger-only fast ferry service operated by the King County Metro Transit Department, Marine Division. It operates two routes between Downtown Seattle and West Seattle or Vashon Island.
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
State Route 160 (SR 160) is a 7.47-mile-long (12.02 km) long state highway serving Kitsap and King counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway begins at an interchange with SR 16 in Port Orchard and travels east to the Southworth ferry terminal, where the route continues onto a ferry to Vashon Heights, the former southern terminus of SR 339, and further east to end at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in Seattle.
The Olympic-class ferries are the newest vessels to the Washington State Ferries fleet. They are intended to allow the agency to retire the aging Evergreen State-class ferries currently in service. The ferry design is based on the Issaquah-class ferries which have proven to be the most reliable and versatile in the fleet. The Olympic-class ferries are designed to serve all routes and terminals in the Washington State Ferries system. All vessels were built in Washington as required by state law since July 2001.
State Route 304 (SR 304) is a state highway in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It connects SR 3, a regional freeway, to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and downtown Bremerton. The designation of SR 304 continues onto the Seattle–Bremerton ferry operated by Washington State Ferries to Colman Dock in Downtown Seattle, terminating at SR 519 on Alaskan Way.
State Route 305 (SR 305) is a 13.50-mile-long (21.73 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, primarily serving Bainbridge Island in Kitsap County and connecting it to Seattle in King County via the Seattle–Bainbridge Island ferry. The highway travels north through Bainbridge Island and leaves the island on the Agate Pass Bridge into the Kitsap Peninsula. SR 305 continues northwest through Poulsbo, intersecting SR 307 and ending at the SR 3 freeway. The highway was created during the 1964 highway renumbering and was preceded by Secondary State Highway 21A (SSH 21A), established in 1937. The ferry, part of the highway since 1994, is served by the Jumbo Mark-II-classMV Tacoma and MV Wenatchee and operates on a 35-minute crossing time.
State Route 339 (SR 339) is a 8.5-nautical-mile-long state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It is designated on a former state-run ferry route that connected Vashon Island's Vashon Heights ferry terminal to downtown Seattle's Pier 50, via a passenger-only ferry, the MV Skagit. The ferry was financed by the King County Ferry District (KCFD) and tolls collected at Pier 50. Despite being part of the KCFD, the ferry was operated by Washington State Ferries (WSF). SR 339 was one of only four ferry routes providing access to and from Vashon Island, and had the lowest annual average ridership of the four routes. The state of Washington took over the operation of the ferry route in 1951, and designated it SR 339 in 1994. The ferry was discontinued in 2006 and was replaced by a King County Water Taxi route.
Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, is the primary ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington, United States. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal, now used by the Washington State Ferries system, is still called "Colman Dock". The terminal serves two routes to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton and has an adjacent passenger-only facility at Pier 50 for King County Water Taxi and Kitsap Fast Ferries routes.
The Seattle–Bainbridge ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington. The route was called the Seattle–Winslow ferry before the city of Winslow annexed the rest of the island and changed its name. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.
The MV Samish is the second vessel of the Olympic-class auto ferries built by Vigor Industrial for the Washington State Ferries system. The vessel started service with her maiden voyage to Friday Harbor as the #3 Boat in the San Juans on June 14, 2015.
The MV Chimacum is the third vessel of the Olympic-class auto ferries for the Washington State Ferries system. The ship was built by Vigor Industrial at their shipyard in Seattle, Washington and entered service on the Seattle–Bremerton route in 2017.
Kitsap Fast Ferries is a passenger ferry service operating between Seattle and Kitsap County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is funded and operated by Kitsap Transit and began service in July 2017, with a single boat traveling between Seattle and Bremerton. A second route, from Seattle to Kingston, launched in November 2018, and a third route serving Seattle and Southworth began operating in March 2021. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,091,400, or about 40,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.