Some holidays, the West Seattle Water Taxi is out of service. But next Monday, on Memorial Day, Metro says the foot ferry will be running between Seacrest and downtown (though the Vashon Island Water Taxi will NOT run that day). It will be on a Sunday schedule that day – you can see the times here. (Metro buses will be on Sunday schedules that day, too.)

Out walking in the Seacrest/Don Armeni area tonight, we noticed this crowd aboard the Water Taxi for an evening run to downtown. This is the second weekend of the year that the WT is on its full spring/summer schedule, including Friday and Saturday nights. Last scheduled run of the night is 11 pm from West Seattle to downtown.

As of this week, the West Seattle Water Taxi is on its spring/summer schedule. Since it continued seven-days-a-week service through the fall and winter, the only change is that it’s running Friday and Saturday nights too. In pre-pandemic times, the foot ferry cut back to weekdays only in the cooler months; seven-day service was facilitated by county funding this year, but city funding in 2021-2022, during the West Seattle Bridge closure. So we asked Metro today what the plan is for next fall/winter, since the current schedule is posted as ending on Friday, October 13th. Short answer: They don’t know yet. Long answer, from spokesperson Al Sanders: “Metro is currently evaluating the ridership from this winter and comparing it to last year when the bridge was closed. Once we have reviewed this information, we will be able to better determine what next winter’s Water Taxi schedule will be.”

(File photo)

The West Seattle route of the King County Water Taxi starts its spring/summer schedule later this month. Since it’s been running seven days a week all year, the schedule difference will be the addition of Friday and Saturday night runs, starting April 21st, running through 10:45 pm departures from downtown and 11 pm departures from West Seattle. To get ready for that, the West Seattle Water Taxi will be out of service the previous weekend, April 15-16. Metro – which operates the Water Taxi – says that will be necessary “to conduct training and maintenance.” The spring/summer schedule will continue through October 13th. (As for whether it’ll go to a weekday-only schedule after that – we’re checking.)

After West Seattle Water Taxi cancellations because of weather this morning, as noted in our traffic/transit roundup, Metro resumed service late this morning and tried continuing it this pm, but just announced that today’s remaining runs are canceled. “Sustained high winds have created unsafe conditions at Seacrest dock,” Metro says. The email version of the alert adds:

The current marine weather forecast does not indicate any improvements by tomorrow morning. We will continue to monitor the weather and will send additional updates as more information becomes available.

During this time, Water Taxi shuttle routes 773 and 775 will continue to operate as usual in West Seattle.

Metro says the Water Taxi will return to normal service on both routes tomorrow. Just received:

Both the West Seattle and Vashon Island routes of the King County Water Taxi will resume their normal full sailing schedules tomorrow, Friday, December 16.

Last night, damage to one of the ships’ propellers left the division to operate both routes with one vessel today, which led to reduced service on both routes. Thanks to today’s crew, which spent the full day taking the Doc Maynard to Port Angeles shipyard and back, and thanks to the shipyard, which was able to get the vessel into dry dock on short notice and change propellers, each route will have a vessel to operate full service.

Metro‘s not only down buses – now it’s down another boat – Water Taxi service has lost a boat to propeller damage, again. The M/V Doc Maynard, recently repaired after damage last month, is out of service again, which led to one round-trip cancellation on each WT route this evening, and will bring more cuts tomorrow, as just announced:

The following trips from Downtown Seattle to West Seattle are canceled: in the morning – the 6:30 a.m., 7:05 a.m. – and in the evening, the 5:25 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.

The following trips from West Seattle to Downtown Seattle are canceled: in the morning 6:50 a.m. and 7:25 a.m., and in the evening 5:45 p.m. and 6:25 p.m.

Other scheduled trips will operate using one vessel serving both the West Seattle and Vashon routes. Visit our online schedules for the full West Seattle route sailing schedule. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Metro spokesperson Elaine Porterfield tells us M/V Sally Fox is still in a shipyard – after the first round of propeller damage to it and Doc Maynard – and unavailable, so that’s why they are handling both routes with one boat,

In case you missed our mention earlier – Metro says both Water Taxi routes, West Seattle and Vashon, are returning to full service this afternoon. Two of the three boats had to be taken out of service Monday for repairs to propeller damage, but Metro says the work is complete on M/V Doc Maynard so it’s back in service, and along with M/V Spirit of Kingston, that means full service on both runs. The regular Vashon boat, M/V Sally Fox, is still awaiting repairs. We asked specifics regarding the “submerged debris” on which the propeller damage was blamed; Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer replied, “Per our water taxi team, we typically encounter debris between Duwamish Head and Alki Point. During high tides in the winter, logs get washed into our path. Large debris can be found everywhere we operate, washing off the shores of Vashon, Downtown Seattle and from the rivers.”

Two more West Seattle Water Taxi runs have been canceled today in addition to what was already announced as a result of Metro being down to one boat for both routes. From the most-recent alert: “The 11:30 a.m. departure from Pier 50 in Downtown Seattle and the noon departure from West Seattle have been canceled today to support fueling operations. Service resumes with the 12:30 p.m. departure from Pier 50 and the 1:00 p.m. departure from West Seattle.” The Water Taxi is running with the smaller backup boat Spirit of Kingston handling both West Seattle and Vashon Island while the larger regular boats, Doc Maynard and Sally Fox, are out for propeller repairs blamed on “submerged debris.”

11:04 AM: Back on Tuesday, Metro announced M/V Doc Maynard had gone out of service on the West Seattle Water Taxi route because of propeller damage. Now it’s happened to at least one other boat and that means “temporarily reduced” WT service for both West Seattle and Vashon. Here’s the update we received a short time ago:

Service on the King County Water Taxi West Seattle and Vashon routes will be temporarily reduced beginning Monday, Nov. 28, due to mechanical damage to our boats’ propellers caused by submerged debris in the water. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. The repairs may take several days.

As soon as a shipyard has the availability to perform repairs, we will return to regular service. We will share schedule updates as the boats are repaired.

West Seattle service will be reduced by two runs in the morning and evening. Midday service will continue to operate to and from West Seattle. One run will operate in the morning and evening to and from Vashon.

We have a followup question out to ask which other boats are going into repairs and which will be left to run the reduced schedule.

12:45 PM: Metro says the damaged boats are the two main vessels – Doc Maynard and Sally Fox. The Spirit of Kingston is handling WT service right now and will continue while the other two get repaired.

6:19 PM: We’ve removed the previously displayed table sent by Metro; instead, here are their online updates listing what’s canceled:
–West Seattle
–Vashon Island

Just in from Metro, two problems affecting the West Seattle Water Taxi route.

First – M/V Doc Maynard is out of service until further notice because of propeller damage. Metro says M/V Spirit of Kingston will fill in as needed.

Second – a shortage of crew is canceling some runs tonight:

Lack of crew will force the reduction of service for tonight’s evening commute
These runs have been canceled for tonight
*The 5:35 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. sailings from downtown to West Seattle
*The 5:45 p.m. and 6:25 p.m. sailings from West Seattle to downtown

(The Vashon route has some cancellations too.)

We asked King County Metro this morning if they might change their mind about this weekend’s planned Water Taxi service outage, given the additional big sporting event(s). First reply was that nothing had changed, but now this is just in:

We want to support fans heading to this weekend’s baseball, football and hockey games, so the West Seattle Water Taxi will operate its normal 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday schedules on Oct. 15-16!

The picturesque and congestion-free trip between West Seattle and downtown Seattle takes as little as 10 minutes.

Free route 773 and 775 water taxi shuttles in West Seattle will also operate, carrying riders to and from Seacrest Dock connecting with all Water Taxi arrivals and departures until 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Evening Metro bus service between downtown Seattle and West Seattle is available on RapidRide C Line, and routes 120 and 125.

Schedules and fare information are online at the Water Taxi webpage. Fares for youth age 18 and under are free.

With the Seattle Mariners playoff schedule in hand, Metro’s Marine Division worked the past several days to identify available captains and crew to provide the service this weekend. Previously planned maintenance and a temporary suspension of service will be rescheduled at a later date.

(WSB file photo)

1:43 PM: One of the questions remaining unanswered after the West Seattle Bridge reopening was whether the West Seattle Water Taxi would go back to limited service this fall/winter. In pre-pandemic times, the standard fall/winter plan was to reduce service to am/pm commute weekday service only, but last year the 7-day-a-week, all-day service was maintained through the chillier seasons. We asked recently what the plan was for this year and the answer was that it was still being finalized. Now, the announcement is just in:

On Monday, Oct. 17, the West Seattle Water Taxi will continue providing midday and weekend sailings between downtown Seattle’s Pier 50 and Seacrest Dock in West Seattle.

The seven-day-a-week service will run from approximately 6 a.m. weekdays (8:30 a.m. weekends) to 7 p.m. Weekday sailings leaving the dock every 35 minutes during peak commute hours and every hour during the midday, and on weekends. There will be no Friday or Saturday sailings after 7 p.m. …

During commute hours, riders can take the free Metro shuttles to and from the Water Taxi landing at Seacrest Park. Route 773 serves the West Seattle Junction. Route 775 serves the Admiral District and Alki. …

During the repair of the West Seattle High Bridge, the Water Taxi provided a choice for those not wanting to drive to and from West Seattle. There was enough ridership during the winter season that Metro has chosen to maintain service for riders who want to continue using the Water Taxi instead of returning to their vehicles with the reopening of the High Bridge. This pilot program for this fall and winter, which will also provide more consistent scheduling for Water Taxi crews, will be used to evaluate potential ongoing year-round service.

In preparation for the start of the winter sailing schedule, Water Taxi staff will be conducting vessel maintenance on Oct. 15-16, so West Seattle service will be canceled for that weekend.

Last year, the extra service was maintained with extra funding from the city; we’re checking on whether that’s how they’re covering the cost this year, as the announcement did not say.

3:16 PM: Metro spokesperson Al Sanders says this time it’s all Metro (county) funding.

A tipster told us about some kind of problem with the West Seattle Water Taxi vessel in the past half-hour. We’ve been trying to reach Metro to verify that, and in the meantime they’ve just sent word that they’re making a sudden vessel swap, to the backup Spirit of Kingston, delaying the 5:25 pm departure from Downtown and 5:45 pm departure from West Seattle.

Just in from Metro:

The King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle route will be reduced this evening, Friday, August 19, 2022, due to a shortage of available workforce.

The following trips from Downtown Seattle to West Seattle are canceled: 5:25 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.

The following trips from West Seattle to Downtown Seattle are canceled: 5:45 p.m. and 6:25 p.m.

Please note: There is a two-hour gap in scheduled sailings to West Seattle between the 4:45 p.m. trip and the 6:45 p.m. trip and riders are encouraged to consider alternate travel plans.

Other scheduled trips are expected to operate using available crew members.

The Vashon Water Taxi run is missing trips this pm, too.

Just announced by Metro:

The King County Water Taxis West Seattle route will be reduced tomorrow evening, Monday, July 11, due to a shortage of available workforce.

The following trips from Downtown Seattle to West Seattle are canceled: 5:25 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.

The following trips from West Seattle to Downtown Seattle are canceled: 5:45 p.m. and 6:25 p.m.

Please note: There is a two-hour gap in scheduled sailings to West Seattle between the 4:45 p.m. trip and the 6:45 p.m. trip and riders are encouraged to consider alternate travel plans.

Other scheduled trips are expected to operate using available crew members.

Some Water Taxi runs were also canceled last Friday because of a crew shortage.

Just in from Metro:

King County Water Taxi service will be reduced this afternoon, Wednesday, June 22, on the West Seattle and Vashon routes due to a shortage of available workforce.

The following trips are affected:

Downtown to West Seattle: departures at 5:25 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. are canceled.
West Seattle to downtown: departures at 5:45 p.m. and 6:25 p.m. are canceled.
Downtown to Vashon: the departure at 6:30 p.m. is canceled.
Vashon to Downtown: the departure at 6:58 p.m. is canceled.

Please note: The 5:30 p.m. is the last trip of the day operating from downtown to Vashon. There is also a two-hour gap in scheduled sailings to West Seattle between the 4:45 p.m. trip and the 6:45 p.m. trip and riders are encouraged to consider alternate travel plans.

Other scheduled trips are expected to operate using available crew members.

We’ll update if anything changes.

6:20 PM: Just in from Metro:

One engine on the Spirit of Kingston is having difficulty and due to high winds, the remaining trips between downtown Seattle and West Seattle have been canceled. During this time, Water Taxi shuttle routes 773 and 775 will continue to operate as usual in West Seattle.

Transportation options are listed in the full alert.

11 PM UPDATE: Normal service will resume tomorrow morning, Metro says – while also confirming that the midday service suspension for dock work at Seacrest will happen again on Thursday as planned.

11:14 AM: Just announced by Metro:

Scheduled repairs to the Seacrest Dock in West Seattle will close the dock during the midday sailing hours between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm from Monday, May 16 through Thursday, May 19. Should work complete early, notification regarding service resumption will follow.

We’re following up to see what the repairs entail.

ADDED 2:14 PM: Water Taxi spokesperson Al Sanders tells us it’s actually maintenance: “The time is needed to complete the final phase of dock maintenance at Seacrest Park which had been scheduled for mid-April but was delayed due to supply chain issues. The contractor is planning on three days of work with one day as a buffer, so it is possible to resume service earlier based on their success in executing the work.”

Two reminders for West Seattle Water Taxi riders: No service between the morning and evening commute hours (9:10 am to 3:25 pm) tomorrow through Wednesday (April 18-19-20) because of crew training/drills. Then on Thursday, the summer schedule begins. Since the Water Taxi already has been running year-round, the main change is the return of later evening service on Fridays and Saturdays, until mid-October.