Sub Pop Records CEO: ‘It would have been impossible to bring that many people to our festival without the help of the King County Water Taxi’

Event organizers for Sub Pop Record’s 30th anniversary celebration on Alki Beach praised King County Water Taxi’s flexibility for helping thousands of concert-goers enjoy the biggest one-day event in West Seattle’s history without having to fight traffic congestion. King County Water Taxi set a single-day ridership record during Sub Pop Records’ 30th anniversary celebration on Alki…

King County Water Taxi crews are sporting new uniforms with the service's new branding, designed completely in-house.

King County Water Taxi fares will increase March 1

To anyone planning to replenish an ORCA card or budgeting for regular trips on the Water Taxi next month – take note. One-way fares will increase for the King County Water Taxi on March 1, 2018. Adult fares will increase by 50 cents per trip for both West Seattle and Vashon Island. Riders using ORCA…

Riders wait to board the MV Doc Maynard at Seacrest Dock in West Seattle.

Despite changes, Water Taxi ridership continued to climb in 2017

The King County Water Taxi enjoyed another banner year of ridership aboard our vessels in 2017. We carried a total of 599,954 riders on our West Seattle and Vashon Island routes combined while maintaining nearly perfect completion and on-time performance rates on each sailing, for each route. Technically, our systemwide total is about 2,000 riders…

Riders from Vashon Island disembark the MV Sally Fox in Seattle.

Water Taxi breaks another ridership record in October

Make it another month of record ridership for the King County Water Taxi. And it’s all thanks to our amazing riders! For the second consecutive month, we carried more riders than ever before – 52,902, to be exact. That’s nearly 20 percent more than October ridership in each of the last two years. Here’s a breakdown…

King County Water Taxi is now offering earplugs - on both of its boats and at its terminal in Downtown Seattle – to help ease the noise for riders. The earplugs come with a string attached (no pun intended) to make sure you don’t lose one or both of them.

Block out waterfront construction noise with these free ear plugs

If things get too loud on the waterfront, don’t worry – we’ve got your ears covered. King County Water Taxi is now offering earplugs – on both of its boats and at its terminal in Downtown Seattle – to help ease the noise for riders. The earplugs come with a string attached (no pun intended)…

On Wednesday, June 21, 2017, King County Water Taxi and Commute Seattle surprised commuters from Vashon Island with prizes from local businesses. It was part of an effort called Transit For the Win and Ride Transit Month, which celebrates transit users throughout Seattle.

Water Taxi celebrates Transit For the Win with special ‘Thank You’ to riders

We have some of the most loyal riders around. Last week, King County Water Taxi partnered with Commute Seattle and several local businesses to give a special “Thank You” to nearly 200 of those riders as part of a celebration called Transit For the Win. The scene: a packed 8:15 a.m. sailing out of Vashon…

Mike Sudduth, left, plays a game of cribbage with Richard Franklin, right, as another game of cribbage takes place at the table next to them aboard the MV Sally Fox. Sudduth donated the specially inscribed boards as a way to honor his friend, Sally Fox, who was an advocate for passenger-only ferry service to Vashon Island and the vessel's namesake.

The story behind MV Sally Fox’s cribbage boards

Regulars on King County Water Taxi’s Vashon Island route know them well: glossy wooden cribbage boards stationed at one of four seating areas in the lower passenger deck of the MV Sally Fox. On almost every run, enthusiasts of the popular card-and-board game can be seen huddled around one of these game boards, studying their…

GIF of water taxi photo overlaid with image of ridership 2013, 2014 and 2015, and 515,000 record broken in October 2016.

New record: Ridership soaring on the water taxi!

Middle of last week it happened. Most people were quietly commuting on the water taxi into downtown Seattle when history was made! Thanks to riders, the 2015 record of 515,207 boardings was broken last Wednesday. With more than two months of service left in 2016, there’s a chance ridership might top 600,000. Since starting service as…

Water Taxi Shuttles – making West Seattle more accessible

The open secret in West Seattle’s Junction and Alki areas is that the Water Taxi provides free shuttles to connect riders to the dock for your quick cruise across Elliott Bay. Last year nearly 126,000 riders used the shuttles for commuting, sightseeing, and sometimes both! The Water Taxi provides two routes in West Seattle, operating daily…

Pier 50 with many passengers waiting to board as others exit the Water Taxi.

Ridership is up, marking another great summer on the Water Taxi!

September is here and as summer fades into fall, we wanted to take the opportunity to thank all our loyal riders who enjoy and support the King County Water Taxi. Over the last three months (June through August), both the West Seattle and Vashon routes continue to see strong ridership. The West Seattle route had…

Captain's Blog

News from the King County Water Taxi

Our riders