The passenger-only ferry (POF) system is set to grow in Puget Sound with the introduction of new service between Southworth and Seattle, making it the sixth POF in the Central Puget Sound Region, but could more destinations be on the horizon? The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is exploring that question in a study of 40 destinations and 15 routes. Not all of those are likely to the make the final cut in the study, but destinations as far away as Olympia, Port Angeles, and Blaine have been put into the initial screening process. The study is also looking at a half-dozen destinations on Lake Washington, Union Bay, and Lake Union.
The PSRC is studying possible POF routes for 11 Puget Sound counties on behalf of the state to determine viability and what it would take to launch new service. House Bill 1160, passed in 2019, tasked the PSRC with the effort. In 2008, the PSRC produced the last regional POF study, which has been instrumental in informing expansion of the POF network since. That study laid the groundwork for POF routes like Kingston-Seattle and Southworth-Seattle (not yet in service) operated by Kitsap Transit.
King County Metro has its own process underway to study new POF routes for the King County Water Taxi system. In December, the transit agency sought feedback on eight destinations and six routes, which could bring new service to parts of Lake Washington, Union Bay, Lake Union, and Shilshole Bay. There is some overlap between the Metro and PSRC study, but Metro’s would essentially update a similar King County study from 2015.
