The number of people who take Golden Gate ferries and buses into and out of Marin dipped last year, but bridges carried more cars, according to new figures.

The reasons behind the numbers are many — more people are working from home, the number of ferry trips are capped and the weather and economy played a role.

The Golden Gate Ferry system recorded a little less than 2.5 million passengers from terminals in Larkspur and Sausalito to San Francisco and back, a 1.7 percent drop from the prior year, according to the Golden Gate Bridge district, which operates the service.

“Ferry was down a bit seasonally due to rainy weather,” said Priya Clemens, bridge district spokeswoman. “Also we’re at capacity, so there is no real room to grow in Larkspur, which is the bulk of our commute trips.”

While slightly down in 2016, ferry trips have been on the rise in recent years. Ten years ago the system had 1.9 million annual riders, but a combination of factors has driven the number up dramatically. Ferries have seen more patrons as the economy has rebounded and worsening Highway 101 commute traffic — especially in the evening — is playing a role.

While it dipped, the number of ferry riders will assuredly grow this year with Golden Gate service from Tiburon to San Francisco starting as soon as Monday, as the system takes over the route from the Blue & Gold Fleet.

Even more ferry riders could be on the way when Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit builds rails to a stop near the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, allowing train commuters to hop onto boats into San Francisco. That train service could begin in 2018.

Additionally, a new Warriors basketball arena in San Francisco could be served by ferry service as AT&T Park is for Giants baseball games.

Golden Gate Ferry has a 42-trip limit into San Francisco and is at its max. Ferry officials are likely to look at increasing the number of crossings this year. Increasing the number of trips beyond 42 would require the bridge district to conduct an environmental impact report. Such a report would address wave action and its effect on marshes as well as traffic impacts on land, among other issues.

Golden Gate Transit regional bus ridership also dipped roughly 8 percent to 3.3 million annual riders in 2016.

“We missed trips last summer and lost some riders,” Clemens said. “We’re fully staffed now with bus operators and have had an excellent record in recent months, with no missed trips. We’re working on winning our customers back. Also, commute patterns are changing, with more people working from home on occasion, which may be impacting our ridership on buses and ferries.”

Bus ridership was as high as 4.1 million in 2008, but declined after a series of cuts to service to help the bridge district balance its budget.

Meanwhile, vehicle traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge is on the upswing, with roughly 41.5 million people driving the span in 2016, up 2.3 percent. The increase is likely a reflection of a good economy, bridge officials said.

Some 29.4 million drivers used the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in 2016, a 1.6 increase over the prior year. That means another 500,000 people drove the span compared with 2015.

Many more people are using the bridge than a decade ago, which is creating traffic issues in Marin in the evening. Now, work on a project to create a third eastbound lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to ease traffic has started and could be finished by fall.

“We think that will help traffic,” said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Bay Area Toll Authority.