Washington State Ferries



Washington State Ferries operates the largest ferry system in the United States, with 21 ferries that travel across Puget Sound and the greater Salish Sea. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, WSF carried approximately 24 million people annually to 20 different ports of call: 19 ferry terminals in Washington and one stop in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. In 2021, ridership decreased to 17 million due to the effects of the pandemic. WSF has not provided service to Sidney, British Columbia, Canada since the pandemic.

WSF's nine ferry service serve as a critical part of the state highway system for businesses, tourists and daily commuters. Seven of the nine ferry routes are served by multiple vessels operating simultaneously to keep terminal wait times low. Ferry system performance tracks measures such as annual ridership, trip reliability and utilization.

Note: Service levels and routes above were based on pre-COVID 19 data and reflect annual averages and route information.

Washington State Ferries System Map image

Multi-year trends

Ridership & capacity utilization:

  • Total ferry ridership increased by 36.4% from 14.0 million in 2020 to 19.1 million in 2024
  • Over the same period, the number of walk-on passengers increased by 86.3% and the number of vehicles increased by 12.7%
  • Capacity utilization system-wide for vehicles increased from 49% in 2020 to 61% in 2023
  • System-wide capacity utilization over the same period for passengers and drivers climbed from 8% to 11%

On-time performance & trip completion rate:

  • On-time performance declined 7.3% from 89.8% in 2020 to 82.5% in 2024
  • Trip completion rate declined from 0.3% from 98.6% in 2019 to 98.3% in 2024