Water taxi midday sailings on the line in Legislative budget negotiations

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, April 8, 2025

The state Legislature is considering eliminating or reducing funding for midday King County water taxi sailings between Vashon and downtown Seattle, but two different proposals now before lawmakers could keep those sailings afloat.

The budget approved by the state House on April 2 appropriates about $2.76 million to continue the service — but only until Labor Day 2026, 10 months before the biennium ends.

Meanwhile, the state Senate on March 28 approved a transportation budget for 2025-2027 biennium that provides no money for the four weekday midday round trips.

However, state Sen. Emily Alvarado — who led legislative efforts last year to secure funding for the trips in the first place — has a creative plan to keep them alive.

Alvarado, who represents Vashon in the 34th District, said she has worked with King County to include a “fund swap” in the budget. King County will trade the remainder of a federal grant that it can no longer spend to the state, in exchange for a more flexible chunk of change sent back to King County Metro.

In the end, the swap frees up $10 million for King County Metro, money which could be used on mobility investments including midday water taxi service, she said.

The move doesn’t specifically earmark that money for water taxi midday service, but it comes amid a budget crunch in which legislators are looking to cover a $1 billion transportation budget gap, and Alvarado said she and legislative negotiators are pushing to keep some kind of continued service in the budget.

Beyond that, “I’ve received so many emails from folks on Vashon who talk about access to medical appointments and access to critical services downtown,” Alvarado said. “I believe that we should continue that service for [its] merits on its own, outside of being a stop gap for reliable ferry service.”

“It’s a testament to her (Alvarado’s) tenacity … that that we’re in such a good position, and so I’m pretty optimistic that it will stay in the final budget,” 34th District Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon said.

The two chambers must agree on a two-year transportation budget before they adjourn. The legislative session is scheduled to end April 27.

Leaders of Islanders for Ferry Action, the advocacy group convened last year by the Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce, are lobbying to continue funding for the midday sailings for the full two years.

“This is the worst possible time to cut back a service that helps so many people for so few taxpayer dollars,” Rick Wallace told the Senate Transportation Committee March 25.

Amy Drayer, director of the group, expressed gratitude to the island’s legislators for keeping some kind of funding in both budgets. Their work “is incredible,” Drayer said, and Alvarado “has rolled up her sleeves [and] been really clear eyed and focused on this. We want to thank her for creative problem solving and tenacity.”

She said that IFA and the regional “Fix our Ferries” coalition also had an encouraging meeting last week with Rep. Jake Fey, chair of the House Transportation Committee, about Washington State Ferries and the water taxi.

Drayer said IFA still encourages islanders to write to Alvarado with letters of support and stories about their usage of the water taxi: “Every letter of support she receives is important.”

The four weekday midday round trips began July 1 after the Legislature appropriated $3.17 million last spring to fund them. Before then the water taxi provided six round trips, but only during peak morning and afternoon commute hours.

The added service was intended to provide some relief for the hardships and inconvenience islanders have endured as Washington State Ferries’ car-ferry service between Vashon and Fauntleroy has become more infrequent and less reliable in recent years.

Islanders welcomed the midday trips. Vashon-Seattle water taxi ridership jumped 55% during the last six months of 2024, almost entirely because of the new sailings.

But the appropriation that funded them expires June 30.

Former Gov. Jay Inslee included $4.77 million to continue the service for another two years in the 2025-2027 transportation budget he proposed in December. But Islanders for Ferry Action leaders acknowledged in January that, with the state facing a big gap between projected transportation expenses and revenues, securing that funding would be challenging.

Early last month Gov. Bob Ferguson announced that conversion of two WSF boats to hybrid-electric power would be delayed so ferry service can return to pre-pandemic levels this summer. That includes a return to three-boat service on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth “Triangle” Route, which has been operating mostly with two boats since 2020.

But Islanders for Ferry Action leaders told legislators that doesn’t justify eliminating funding for the midday water taxi trips.

“WSF is already hedging on whether they can keep that [three-boat] promise,” Beth Lindsay told the Senate Transportation Committee.

She and others cited a March 6 Beachcomber article in which a WSF official said that, if a boat on another route goes out of service and there’s no other vessel available, the Triangle Route’s third boat would be pulled to replace it.

“The Triangle Route and Vashon cannot expect reliable restored service this summer, or until 2029 when new boats arrive,” Amy Drayer said.

“The water taxi has become the most reliable form of transportation for our 11,000-plus residents for medical service, carless commuting and many other services,” said Wendy Aman.

“I’m hopeful that there is not a walk-back on the commitment to bring the three-boat service and make it reliable,” Alvarado told The Beachcomber. “But I think given that the service isn’t there now, and there are still unanswered questions, we have to continue to fight hard to make sure that water taxi service is there.”

Freelance journalist Eric Pryne contributed reporting to this article.