In 2025, Washington State Ferries (WSF) saw its ridership increase by nearly a million passengers, pushing the year’s total ridership to 20.1 million. This was an increase of five percent over 19.1 million riders the year before.
The return of full domestic service is largely credited with boosting the annual ridership. In June, the Seattle/Bremerton route’s second boat was restored, and the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth “Triangle” run resumed its daily three-boat schedule. In July, a second boat was added to the Port Townsend/Coupeville route on Fridays through Mondays for the busy travel season.
There was also a decrease in canceled sailings, with canceled trips due to crew shortages seeing the largest drop. This improvement reflects WSF’s recent investment in building and supporting its workforce. In total, WSF operated more than 150,000 trips in 2025—nearly 7,000 more than the previous year—and completed 98.6 percent of all scheduled sailings, thanks in part to roughly 400 fewer cancellations than in 2024.
Both the number of vehicles and foot passengers grew by about 350,000. Passengers in vehicles climbed by a more modest 250,000.
The new year has seen a challenging start with vessels taken out of service at times, but the company has worked to restore service in each case and is looking ahead toward a stronger fleet in the coming years. At the end of 2025, Gov. Bob Ferguson released his proposed 2026 supplemental budgets which plans to add $1 billion for up to three new 160-auto hybrid-electric ferries, on top of the three already funded.
It also includes $150 million for preservation and maintenance to keep the operation’s oldest boats (Tillikum, Kaleetan, and Yakima) in service until the new vessels arrive. This funding is on top of WSF’s base budget. Ferguson’s proposal also keeps the operating and capital budget mostly the same, with only small changes from the 2025-27 transportation budget. Lawmakers will review the governor’s plan during the 60-day legislative session which runs from Jan. 12, through March 12.