Fast ferry service launches for Bremerton commuters

Commuters from Bremerton now have a faster way to get to and from Seattle starting Monday morning.

A new fast ferry will take thousands of passengers to the Seattle waterfront during the work week. The first boat left Bremerton at 5:40 a.m.

First official sailing of the new #fastferry service to Seattle! pic.twitter.com/eQmTDoafZy

— Kitsap Transit (@KitsapTransit) July 10, 2017

The passenger-only Rich Passage 1 will make the trip between Bremerton and Seattle in 28 minutes, half the time of the car ferry.

The ferry carries 118 passengers.

Of those seats, 88 can be reserved, which is recommended. The 30 other seats are for walk-up riders.

Fares are free for the month of July.

The ferry is designed to throw a low wake, after a previous attempt at passenger-only service damaged shoreline property in Rich Passage.

But there are some people who are a bit concerned about the setup for bicycles on the new ferry.

Cyclists may find that their bikes don’t fit on the 12 racks installed on the vessel.

“We were told that disc brakes and racks, and fenders to the bike, would not fit in the bike racks, which is almost everybody,” said Paul Dutky, the president of the West Sound Cycling Club. “I have four bikes (and) none of them would actually fit under those circumstances.”

Kitsap Transit contacted the West Sound Cycling Club to give its members a chance to test the bikes on the racks.

“What we told them is that it’s difficult to get the front tire in the rack, which is a cradle,” Dutky said. “Most racks are perpendicular to the wall, and these racks mount the bike at 45 degrees to the wall so that they can fit in. The rear tire isn’t supported. And so on a 45-degree wall, the back tire actually slides across the wall.”

Dutky said the racks could actually damage bikes.

“We are going to continue to work with the cycling community and the vessel’s manufacturer to find the bike rack that will work for the ferry service so that it can operate in the salty air and the sea conditions and will be safe for our passengers,” Kitsap Transit spokesperson Sanjay Bhatt said.

The ferry launches at a time of skyrocketing home prices in King County.

Zillow puts the median list price of a home in Seattle at $650,000.

In Bremerton, it’s $289,000.

Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said the service is “going to mean more people living here, and jobs.”

Lent says in addition to providing new housing options for people who work in Seattle, the fast ferry service will help Bremerton attract new employers.

The Bremerton ferry is the first stage of Kitsap Transit’s cross-Sound ferry plan.

Service between Seattle and Kingston is due to start in July 2018.

Service between Seattle and Southworth starts in 2020.