Sailing on a ferry for Labor Day? Expect lots of company
Published 10:18 pm Thursday, September 3, 2015
More people have jumped aboard Washington State Ferries this summer than any other in the past 12 years, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
So far this summer, an additional 150,000 passengers — enough to fill Safeco Field nearly three times over — have taken a ferry compared to summer 2014. That’s a 2.4 percent jump. Year-to-date figures are even higher, up 3.5 percent.
If you’re traveling by ferry this Labor Day weekend, you’ll feel that spike in a hurry. An estimated 94,000 travelers per day are expected to squeeze in some last-minute summertime fun from Friday Sept. 4 to Monday Sept. 7. The average daily load is 84,000 passengers.
Some tips for ferry travel:
– Sign up for ferry travel alerts by email or check “WSFerries” on Twitter
– Reserve a spot if you’re heading to the San Juan Islands, Sidney B.C., or Port Townsend-Coupeville
– Travel early or late to avoid the most congested sailings
The Edmonds-Kingston and Mukilteo-Clinton routes each had more than 1 million passengers travel this summer. The busiest route was Seattle-Bainbridge Island at 1.6 million passengers.
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