Kitsap Fast Ferries carried 854,529 passengers in 2024, while fares covered 16% of operating costs in 2023; voters approved a sales tax to fund the service

A daily commute across Puget Sound was once slower and offered fewer choices for many Kitsap County residents. Rather than waiting for a new solution, local citizens decided to take matters into their own hands and voted to implement a special sales tax to fund dedicated passenger-only transportation system. According to Kitsap Transit’s annual ferry statistics, Kitsap Fast Ferries carried 854,529 passengers in 2024, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year. A Washington State Passenger-Only Ferry Study and Kitsap Transit data describe the system as an example of a public transportation service designed to provide mobility rather than recover all of its costs through ticket sales.

The vote that launched Kitsap’s passenger-only ferry service

The Kitsap Peninsula sits across Puget Sound from Seattle, making ferries an important part of daily travel. While Washington State Ferries carry both passengers and vehicles, local leaders believed there was also demand for faster passenger-only service that could shorten commuting times. Kitsap County's voters chose to fund ferries for passengers instead of waiting for state funding, approving a 0.3 percent sales tax for passenger ferries. Today, the agency runs one of the largest passenger-only ferry systems in the United States, an example of a community-funded approach to public transportation.


How the ferry network expanded its reach

As more and more individuals returned to work after the pandemic and ferry services expanded, the number of passengers was also seen to grow even further. Based on the report from Kitsap Transit, it notes that the three cross-sound fast ferry trips recorded a total of 854,529 passengers in 2024 as compared to the number recorded in 2023 which was about 769,732. The Bremerton route was the most used of all, where more than half a million passengers were recorded, while as per growth percentage, the Southworth route was highest at 21 percent. The success was achieved within the whole range of ferry services from Kitsap Transit, including local foot ferries, which recorded a total of 1.23 million passengers in 2024. Moreover, the service remained reliable, as well as the performance too was of the high level at 99 percent and 97 percent respectively. Thus, almost all scheduled trips went as planned as well as almost all the trips departed within five minutes of the scheduled time.

The economics behind the ferry service

Operating costs are not always paid through fares alone, and neither are the costs of passenger ferries. The expense of running a fast ferry continues even when the ships are not filled to capacity. Each year, crews have to be paid, ships have to be maintained, fuel has to be purchased, terminals have to remain operational, and safety requirements have to be met. The Washington State Passenger-Only Ferry study found that Kitsap Fast Ferries recovered only 16 percent of operating costs through fares in 2023. The system was never intended to rely solely on ticket income, but to include a component of public funding to ensure that service was available when costs surpassed income from ticket sales.

Passenger-only ferries are designed for people rather than vehicles, allowing faster crossings and easier connections with buses, walking, cycling, and public transit after arrival. These ferries complement, rather than replace, traditional car ferries by providing another travel option for commuters and other passengers. Faster trips can make public transit more desirable, especially to those who commute weekly from Kitsap County to downtown Seattle.

A model for future ferry routes

The effectiveness of Kitsap Fast Ferries has gained prominence outside Kitsap County. Experts studied this development to understand how similar transportation options could enhance regional transport by connecting distant areas or communities by water or by longer and highly-congested roads.