Back on board: 2024 brought half a million more state ferry riders

Fewest cancellations in four years, increased walk-ons boosted ridership to 19.1 million

SEATTLE - The final tallies for 2024 are in: Washington State Ferries welcomed nearly 500,000 more people aboard last year compared to the year before. Ridership for the year was more than 19.1 million, up 2.6% from 2023.

The lowest number of canceled sailings since 2020 and a big jump in walk-on passengers fueled the rise in annual ridership. The number of walk-ons soared by 224,000, or 5.7%, as tourism and a return to the office for many workers increased substantially. Passengers with vehicles climbed by a more modest 102,000, or 1.1%.

2024 route-by-route ridership highlights

The greatest year-to-year surge came on the Point Defiance/Tahlequah run. Total ridership on the route-vehicles and passengers combined-spiked 5.8%. The Seattle/Bainbridge Island run was the system's busiest in 2024 with 4.9 million total riders, followed by Edmonds/Kingston with 3.7 million.

Other system highlights by route:

• Point Defiance/Tahlequah: System-high year-to-year jump in total riders of 5.8%; vehicles went up 3.6%; walk-ons soared 9.8%.
• Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth: Total riders rose 2.8%; vehicles increased 1.8%; system-high year-to-year surge in walk-ons of 11.4%.
• Seattle/Bremerton: Total riders climbed 3.9%; vehicles went up 1%; walk-ons spiked 6.6%.
• Seattle/Bainbridge Island: Total riders increased 3.2%; vehicles went down 1.9%; walk-ons jumped 6.5% (by a significant amount, the busiest route for customers boarding without a vehicle).
• Edmonds/Kingston: Total riders soared 5.5%; system-high year-to-year increase in vehicles of 5.9%; walk-ons rose 0.9%.
• Mukilteo/Clinton: Total riders dropped 0.2%; vehicles declined 1.1% (yet remained the busiest run for drivers); walk-ons climbed 9.4%.
• Port Townsend/Coupeville: Total riders grew 1.1%; vehicles went up 0.5%; walk-ons surged 3.4%.
• Anacortes/San Juan Islands: Total riders decreased 0.7% from 2023; vehicles remained nearly flat; walk-ons dropped 0.8%.

WSF, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and safely and efficiently carries tens of millions of people a year through some of the most majestic scenery in the world. For the latest service updates, sign up for rider alerts and track each ferry using the real-time map online.