Elliott Bay Water Taxi start date just announced: April 27

Just in from the office of King County Councilmember Dow Constantine:

Service on the Elliott Bay Water Taxi is set to resume Sunday, April 27 as the West Seattle-to-downtown passenger ferry begins its summer season.

Last year was the busiest ever for the Water Taxi, as total ridership increased by 32 percent over the foot ferryâ€™s record 2006 numbers. A total of 161,331 riders took the taxi last summer, as compared with 122,650 in 2006. The extra revenues generated by this record ridership allowed King County to extend commute hour service through late October.

â€œIn the past decade, the Water Taxi has become a treasured community asset, as both a viable commuter option and an enjoyable â€œshortcutâ€ that takes West Seattle visitors out of traffic and on to Puget Sound,â€ said Metropolitan King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. â€œThe newly established King County Ferry District will finally provide a stable funding source for this vital service. In the coming years, we will be improving the boats, sailing times, and dock facilitiesâ€

A kickoff event is planned for April 27. Event details and Water Taxi schedules will be announced shortly.

TeaLady March 20, 2008 (2:43 pm)

HOO-ray! The water taxi makes my move downtown MUCH less painful :)

seattlemarty March 20, 2008 (2:46 pm)

Whoo Hoo! Just wish it were sooner

pam March 20, 2008 (3:11 pm)

Yay! I LOVE the water taxi! Yay!

That is all. :)

Charlie March 20, 2008 (3:35 pm)

Fantastic! I was just wondering yesterday….as I was sitting in traffic for a quick trip downtown…when the taxi would start up again. Hope it goes year-round again. Thanks Dow for advocating for this all these years!

barmargia March 20, 2008 (3:40 pm)

I love this boat, I just wish it was earlier in the morning so I could get to work on time, but the afternoons are much more tolerable on it.

Noelle March 20, 2008 (4:21 pm)

Ahhhhh The Joy of spring in West Seattle! Going down town will take so much less effort! I adore the Water Taxi and the little shuttle that takes people around. Its relaxing to just hope on a boat & be down town in 12 min.

E March 20, 2008 (4:25 pm)

Whoo Hoo! This makes my day!

Jeremiah March 20, 2008 (4:42 pm)

Swwwweeet!

forrest March 20, 2008 (4:48 pm)

Yes! I can start riding my bike down to the launch and then along the waterfront to work again!

westseattleite March 21, 2008 (10:30 am)

I’m curious, do a lot of you live on Alki or close to a shuttle stop? I live just south of the Junction so I have to get up to the Junction first to take the shuttle and then down to the water taxi. By the time all is said and done it’s taken me an hour to get to work vs. the 20-25 minute bus ride. I would love to take it more, but it’s just not that convienent for everyone.

forrest March 21, 2008 (10:57 am)

westseattlite- I also live just south of the Junction. I either take the shuttle or ride my bike down the Fairmount Ravine.

But I work right on the waterfront, so the water taxi takes me pretty close to work already.

barmargia March 21, 2008 (3:56 pm)

westseattleite that’s part of my problem also. As much as I hate the bus, I have to either walk 30 minutes to the water taxi, or take the shuttle down, then take the boat across, which as much as I love it, never ever takes JUST 12 minutes, then I have to walk 20 minutes to my office, so all said and done it takes me anywhere from 1 – 2 hours to get to work instead of the bus’s 20 minutes

Will March 27, 2008 (2:23 pm)

Has anyone heard if they will use the same slow boat as last year, or the feaster boat they used to use? It’s a great ride to and from town, but that tour boat is really slow!

Sorry, comment time is over.