Anacortes and San Juan Ferries Ridership Nears 2019 Levels
Posted July 19, 2021 at 4:30 am by Hayley Day
WSF’s M/V Samish enters Friday Harbor on its official maiden voyage in 2016. Aaron Shepard, Contributed.
By Nicole McIntosh, Chief of Staff, WSDOT Ferries Division
The state’s reopening and the start of summer are bringing us a surge in ridership.
We carried almost 86,000 riders on Saturday, July 3. That beats our old pandemic high of nearly 80,000 on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend on May 29. July 3 was our busiest day since Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.
Our second busiest was just this past Saturday, July 10, with more than 83,000 riders.
Washington State Ferries, Contributed.
Ridership is about 15% below this time in 2019, with our Anacortes and San Juan Islands and Point Defiance and Tahlequah closest to where they were two years ago.
With weekend ridership expected to be at or above these levels through summer, be prepared for long waits if coming aboard in a vehicle, especially during peak travel times.
Before catching a ferry, I encourage everyone to sign up for rider alerts, check terminal conditions and consider vehicle reservations if driving on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands or Port Townsend/Coupeville routes.
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Categories: Ferries
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