VIADUCT CLOSURE: West Seattle Water Taxi usage so far, by the numbers

(WSB photos from Friday morning)

As we get ready for the second weekday of the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure, the West Seattle Water Taxi usage numbers so far are just in from the King County Department of Transportation:

West Seattle Water Taxi estimated ridership highlights (seven-day service)

April 29, 2016: 3,018 total riders vs. 963 riders on April 22, 2016.

Fullest trips: 236 and 219 passengers at 5:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.

Friday AM Peak (6:15-9:15 a.m.): 922 riders vs. 301 riders on April 22, 2016.

Friday PM Peak (3:45-7 p.m.): 1,471 riders vs. 423 riders on April 22, 2016.

April 30, 2016: 3,075 total riders, including one sold-out trip at 3:30 p.m. after the Sounders game, compared to 871 riders on Saturday, April 23, 2016.

May 1, 2016: 1,656 total riders, compared to 240 riders Sunday, April 24, 2016.

The WS boat Doc Maynard was NOT sold out for any of the Friday commute runs – it holds more than 270 passengers – so there’s room for more people to try it out. If you’re riding your bicycle, the boat’s rack holds 26 bikes:

If you’re parking a motor vehicle the added lot at Pier 2 (across from the 7-11 at Harbor/Florida) was significantly underutilized – park there about 20 minutes before your sailing, and catch a free added shuttle to the dock. Just remember the lot is locked between am and pm commute periods. Get complete info on the West Seattle Water Taxi and its Viaduct-closure-related changes by going here.

SoundersFan May 2, 2016 (8:24 am)

I hurried out of the stadium on Saturday to catch the 3:30 return ferry after the game ended. I made it on before the boat sold out, but I just wanted to add that the crew was very good at flexing the boat schedule/operations to accommodate the sold out situation. They full boat sped over to West Seattle at a higher speed than normal, offloaded, then went directly back to downtown to pick up the others (without loading up people in WS first). Then they sped those remaining people to WS, and were still reasonably on time for the scheduled 4:00 WS departure. Basically then hauled butt and squeezed in an extra Seattle to WS run while remaining more or less on schedule. It’s a relief to know that if I get bumped from a boat in the future I likely won’t have to wait a full hour.

Irene May 2, 2016 (9:00 am)

Two of your photos made me chuckle. The photo on top makes the water taxi look like a paddlewheeler, thanks to the Big Wheel. And the photo of the bike rack that holds 26 bikes made me think of the original water taxi–the bike rack was bungie cords on the railing. Thank you so much for the great water taxi coverage!

WSB May 2, 2016 (9:05 am)

I was just glad to have a chance to use the extra photos Patrick shot while at the dock on Friday!

Kate May 2, 2016 (9:37 am)

The King County Water Taxi is doing a great job handling the crowds. As a long-term rider it’s great to see so many people on board, enjoying their commute into Seattle! The crew had been fantastic-anyone who hasn’t commuted via the Water Taxi should give it a try!

Real Estate Gals May 2, 2016 (1:12 pm)

Glad people are using this! We didn’t think many people would take advantage of the water taxi when we suggested ways to get around the Viaduct shutdown (http://realestategals.com/no-viaduct/), but it looks like the water taxi is getting good use after all!

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