(Recent view of ferries on and near Elliott Bay, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Washington State Ferries‘ annual report for 2024 shows that ridership has risen for the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route, and for the system as a whole. From this week’s announcement:
Washington State Ferries welcomed nearly 500,000 more people aboard last year compared to the year before. Ridership for the year was more than 19.1 million, up 2.6% from 2023.
The lowest number of canceled sailings since 2020 and a big jump in walk-on passengers fueled the rise in annual ridership. The number of walk-ons soared by 224,000, or 5.7%, as tourism and a return to the office for many workers increased substantially. Passengers with vehicles climbed by a more modest 102,000, or 1.1%.
The greatest year-to-year surge came on the Point Defiance/Tahlequah run. Total ridership on the route—vehicles and passengers combined—spiked 5.8%. The Seattle/Bainbridge Island run was the system’s busiest in 2024 with 4.9 million total riders, followed by Edmonds/Kingston with 3.7 million.
From the route-by-route stats:
Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth: Total riders rose 2.8%; vehicles increased 1.8%; system-high year-to-year surge in walk-ons of 11.4%.
You can see the full stats report here.
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