West Seattle Water Taxi’s fall/winter schedule to start at 6:15 am

(WSB photo, October 2011)
Good news for early-bird commuters – the King County Ferry District Board (aka King County Council) has approved a fall/winter schedule change. Here’s the official announcement:

When the water taxi begins its winter commute schedule for West Seattle on Monday, October 29, riders will be able to depart at 6:15 a.m. from Seacrest Park. This is thirty minutes earlier than the present 6:45 a.m. first departure, which does not accommodate commuters who need to arrive to work by 7:00 a.m.

The 6:15 a.m. run was the most popular of the added sailings last October during the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure week and was used by many new commuters working in health-care fields headed to First Hill and other riders looking to get an early start to their work day. This new departure will replace the current 9:15 a.m. departure from Seacrest dock. The last sailing of the morning from Seacrest Park will be at 8:45 a.m. The afternoon water taxi sailing schedule will remain the same.

Here’s the full fall/winter schedule. Wondering if the WSWT will keep the 6:15 am beyond winter? We asked spokesperson Rochelle Ogershok, who says that will be part of a “larger budget conversation” next year, and that its popularity will of course be watched.

P.S. This coming Monday – Labor Day – the West Seattle Water Taxi will be on a Sunday schedule, while the Vashon Water Taxi will not run.

5 Replies to "West Seattle Water Taxi's fall/winter schedule to start at 6:15 am"

  • JayDee August 31, 2012 (4:38 pm)

    Great!

  • West Seattleite August 31, 2012 (6:15 pm)

    Oh, that is good news. Thank you.

  • JayDee August 31, 2012 (7:25 pm)

    To elaborate: The WT is a great way to get to work. Except most times it cannot beat the 56 Express busstop-work. When I am off work, a longer commute is less of problem, but the 6:45(ish) WT lands at 7:02 then the climb to downtown 7:18 (ish). The 6:30 56X gets me to work at 7:05 or so. A 6:15 WT should get me to work at 6:48 which is an improvement. Of course I still need to get to the WT at 6:15 but at least that is on me.

  • Cheryl September 1, 2012 (7:08 am)

    Well, there are few things that will really suck about not having a 9:15am sailing in the winter (ie once the K-12 schools are back in session)…
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    1. Traffic on Avalon is a nightmare of slow moving cars, buses (Metro & Seattle Public Schools), motorcycles, etc. Making your way to Seacrest from 35th & Avalon can take 20+ minutes during the school year.
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    2. Those of us with kids at public schools with late start times (Arbor Heights 8:55, Roxhill 9:30, etc.) are screwed. We will have NO option to ride the water taxi at all unless we have earlier child care options to drop our kids somewhere else before that last morning WSWT run.
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    3. Earlier sailings *might* mean less parking along Harbor for those who sail later in the morning. And what about the mystery construction project that is slated to go up next to Salty’s? That could impact traffic and parking too.
    .
    Bummer. I love taking the water taxi to downtown for work. And I think a 6:15am sailing is fantastic (wish they offered it all year long)! But, except for the days my kid is at her dads, looks like come winter I’ll be forced to drive into work. Metro bus from the south end of West Seattle (Barton/35th) is not a viable option as it takes an hour+ for me to get to my office going in that way. May as well drive at that point. And the little blue shuttle is not worth even mentioning, unless you live within walking distance of the Juntion or Admiral. That thing could easily be outrun by a tortoise. Just sayin.
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    Come on Seattle “powers that be”, there MUST be more we can do to help West Seattleites get on/off the peninsula more efficiently that also keeps the time frame *reasonable*. An hour + to go 8 miles into downtown is not reasonable. It’s one of the primary reasons why I love riding the water taxi. That, and it sure is a lovely way to travel.

  • seattlej September 1, 2012 (10:46 am)

    Your headline is confusing. I initially thought that you meant that that schedule was to start at 6:15 on Saturday which made no sense. Until I looked at the schedule you linked and realized you meant that this was how the new schedule would in October.

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