It will now cost you more to ride Washington ferries
Oct 1, 2024, 1:30 PM
Spokane Ferry pulling into dock at the Edmonds side of the Edmonds-Kingston ferry run. (Photo: Jonathan Assink via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: Jonathan Assink via Flickr Creative Commons)
It has become an annual cost of passage. The 4.25% fare increase for Washington ferries goes into effect Tuesday.
Starting October 1, a single-ride passenger ticket between downtown Seattle and Bainbridge Island will rise from $9.85 to $10.25. The fare for a standard car and driver on the same route will increase from $17.90 to $18.65.
The pandemic significantly impacted ridership, which dropped from over 24 million passengers annually before 2020 to 14 million in 2020. By 2023, ridership had only partially recovered to 18.6 million passengers.
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The Washington State Transportation Commission has approved the fare increase for the second consecutive year to offset a temporary discount on multiride passes. This decision aims to meet revenue targets set by the 2023-2025 transportation budget.
Aaron Halbert, a financial analyst for the commission, noted that fares have risen annually for over two decades. The recent hikes are driven by reduced sailings and passenger numbers.
“It’s very much driven by two major issues: the workforce issues and the aging of the fleet,” Halbert said. “Those two paired together, with the impacts of COVID, means people aren’t taking the ferry every day to go to work anymore.”
The pandemic significantly impacted ridership, which dropped from over 24 million passengers annually before 2020 to 14 million in 2020. By 2023, ridership had only partially recovered to 18.6 million passengers.
The fare hike, approved in August 2023, is part of a strategy to meet a $419 million farebox revenue target set by lawmakers for the 2023-2025 budget. Currently, fare revenues cover 57% of Washington State Ferries’s (WSF) operations, with the remaining 43% funded by other state sources.
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The 2023-2025 transportation budget allocated $725 million for ferry operations, with a significant portion expected to come from fare revenues. The fare increase is essential to bridge the revenue gap caused by declining ridership.
This is also the first day without a peak season surcharge for vehicles, which will resume on May 1, 2025. Fare calculations can be made on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) website.
The fare increase is part of a broader effort to address WSF’s financial challenges. The agency is operating with just over half the boats needed to service the Puget Sound area and is facing a staffing crisis. Delays and cancellations were common during the warmer months of 2024.
Governor Jay Inslee has allocated $1.5 million in emergency funding to support inter-island transportation. Additionally, 38 state leaders have requested urgent federal funding for WSF in the 2025 fiscal year to restore full service.
WSF does not expect to return to full service until at least 2028, when new ferry vessels currently under construction are expected to be operational.
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.
