Foot ferry traffic up in Puget Sound

SEATTLE (AP) — Ridership on passenger-only ferries is increasing rapidly in the Puget Sound region.

KOMO reports that updated figures released Monday by the Puget Sound Regional Council show that overall foot ferry ridership in the first six months of this year was more than double its level during the same period of 2014.

Kitsap Transit, which operates expanded cross-Sound passenger-only ferry service from Kingston and Bremerton to Seattle, saw a 126 percent jump during that period, with ridership growing from 230,000 to 519,000.

King County Metro, which operates the West Seattle water taxi, experienced a 78 percent increase, from 200,000 riders to 357,000.

To accommodate the increase in passengers, a new foot ferry terminal was opened this year at Seattle's Colman Dock.

The Puget Sound Regional Council has received a $350,000 grant from the state to conduct a passenger-only ferry study that will assess potential new routes and identify future terminal locations to better connect communities bordering Puget Sound as well as communities on Lake Washington and Lake Union.