Submitted by WSF

Thirty-four times the population of the city of Seattle – that’s how many people Washington State Ferries carried in 2018.

Annual ridership on the nation’s largest ferry system increased by more than 225,000 last year to nearly 25 million, its highest level since 2002.

“Our ridership is up 10 percent from five years ago, and it’s forecast to grow another 30 percent to all-time highs over the next 20 years,” said WSF Assistant Secretary Amy Scarton. “In order to support this projected demand with reliable service, our recently released 2040 Long Range Plan calls for 16 new vessels by 2040.”

The largest jump in 2018 came on the Southworth/Vashon route, where ridership was up 8.8 percent, or a gain of nearly 17,000 customers over 2017. This is the third year in a row that the biggest percentage increase has been on a route serving Southworth, as people move to more affordable housing in South Kitsap County.

WSF customers took more than 161,000 trips aboard state ferries last year, travelling nearly 1 million miles – enough to circumnavigate the earth 36 times.

2018 route-by-route ridership highlights

• System total: customers up 0.9 percent from 2017 to 24.7 million, vehicles up 1.1 percent to 10.8 million.

• Seattle/Bainbridge Island and Bremerton: While it remains WSF’s flagship terminal servicing the most customers throughout the system, there was a year-to-year drop of nearly 60,000 total riders (0.6 percent) passing through Colman Dock. Vehicles down 2.3 percent on Bainbridge Island route, up 3 percent for Bremerton.

• Edmonds/Kingston: second-highest total ridership with customers up 2.2 percent. Biggest year-to-year increase in total vehicles, going up nearly 40,000 (1.8 percent).

• Mukilteo/Clinton: welcomed system’s fourth Olympic class ferry, Suquamish, to the route in the fall. Busiest route for drivers with vehicles up 1.5 percent and customers up 1.7 percent.

• Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth: customers up 1.4 percent and vehicles up 1.5 percent, led by the Southworth/Vashon segment, which had the largest year-to-year percentage growth with customers up 8.8 percent and vehicles up 6.8 percent.

• Anacortes/San Juan Islands: all-time record ridership with customers up 1.4 percent and vehicles up 1.5 percent.

• Point Defiance/Tahlequah: customers up 2.9 percent and vehicles up 3.7 percent. Ridership up more than 250,000 from low point in 2008.

• Port Townsend/Coupeville: customers up 4 percent and vehicles up 3.8 percent. Ten-year ridership increase of more than 350,000.

• Anacortes/Sidney, British Columbia: slight drop due to a two-week suspension of the route due to vessel breakdowns with customers down 0.7 percent and vehicles down 1.8 percent.

• Route-by-route ridership numbers: available on the second page of WSF’s Fact Sheet.

• Additional highlights: See more in WSF’s 2018 Year in Review.