This in from intrepid transportation reporter Ed Friedrich:
“Kitsap Transit plans to grow its ferry operation between Bremerton, Port Orchard and Annapolis.
The agency’s board of commissioners gave it permission Tuesday to buy the ferry Admiral Pete and expand it to carry 115 passengers, up from its current capacity of 82. The boat, owned and operated by Kitsap Harbor Tours and leased by Kitsap Transit, is the route’s workhorse. The ferry, which often nears capacity during peak-time sailings, would be extended 15 feet to carry at least 30 more passengers. …
Kitsap Transit’s Bremerton-Port Orchard ferry ridership grew 12 percent in the past year, from 477,000 boardings to 524,000, Clauson said. It is quicker for passengers and less expensive for the agency than buses. It would take three or four buses to carry a ferry load of people, 10 to 12 buses to match the frequent departure times and the ride times would be much longer, Clauson said.”
Do you ride the foot ferry regularly? Occasionally? How important is the ferry to you? Has that changed because of the recession?
